The Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Office of the Leisure & Cultural Services Department will organise the second edition of the Hong Kong ICH Month from May 30 to June 30, featuring over 50 ICH performances, 80 promotion booths and 40 field visits held across Hong Kong.
The department said the various activities will cover over 100 ICH items, giving the public and tourists a greater insight into Hong Kong’s ICH, and enable them to experience the cultural richness of ICH and the pleasure it brings, with a view to achieving “shaping tourism with cultural activities and promoting culture through tourism”.
A programme briefing was held today, announcing that the opening ceremony and ICH carnival will be held on May 30 and 31 at the Cultural Centre Piazza.
Apart from Cantonese music, a female lion dance and a children/youth Cantonese opera show, there will be interactive booths featuring a shadow puppetry demonstration and experience, a lion dance experience, Cantonese opera costumes and flash mob performances, a Pixiu dance, Hoi Luk Fung/Hoklo unicorn dance, for members of the public to join.
There will also be in-depth exploration in tours of nine thematic routes, bringing the public and tourists to eight districts, namely Wan Chai, the Islands, Kowloon City, Kwai Tsing, North, Sai Kung, Sham Shui Po, Yau Tsim Mong, in which ICH practitioners will share their skills and stories. Registration will open on May 15.
A light show will be presented on the exterior walls of the Space Museum in mid-to-late June to showcase the rich historical and cultural significance of the horse in artefacts and artworks, and the underlying essence of ICH.
Meanwhile, the “10 Living ICH Treasures” Mobile Classrooms will bring ICH knowledge and Chinese culture to local primary and secondary schools through mobile displays, live performance and demonstrations, as well as interactive workshops.
Carnivals or fun days will be held in various districts across Hong Kong on several Saturdays and Sundays in June.
People of all ages may enjoy a variety of ICH performances and interactive, hands-on experiential booths. Participants may make their own ICH food items and learn about the making techniques, or take part in workshops on fishing net plaiting, salt making and movable-type printing techniques.
Other events include Hong Kong Cheongsam Heritage Salon, the “Fly with ICH Delight: Pop-up Display” and “Hong Kong-style Milk Tea Making Technique” live demonstrations, as well as a seminar where scholars and experts are invited to explore the transmission and development of ICH.