A quick digest of the coolest weekend happenings in Hong Kong.
Friday, December 6
Moonlit Movies: The Nightmare Before Christmas
December is here, which can only mean one thing: it’s time for the holiday movies, including this Disney classic about the misadventures of Jack Skellington, the beloved pumpkin king of Halloweentown who has become bored of the spooky holiday. After accidentally stumbling into Christmastown, and being inspired by the holiday’s bright colors and warm spirits, he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role.
8pm at, The Hong Kong Observation Wheel and AIA Vitality Park, 33 Man Kwong Street, Central. HK$80.
Lydia Pau at Lost Stars Livehouse
Get the weekend started with some acoustic music courtesy of singer-songwriter Lydia Pau, who’s performing at Lost Stars as part of the venue’s “Future In The Making” series. The performance will be split into three sessions, and patrons can order food and drink during the 20 minute breaks in between sessions.
8pm-9:50pm at, Lost Stars Livehouse Bar & Eatery, G/F, Shop 506,11 Li Tak Street, Square Mile, Tai Kok Tsui. Free, but patrons must buy food or drink from the eatery.
City of Darkness by Greg Girard & Ian Lambot
This is your last chance to catch this Blue Lotus Gallery exhibition featuring photographs of the famous and long-gone Kowloon Walled City by Greg Girard and Ian Lambot. For more than 50 years, the walled city was a source of fascination for observers; it began as a squatter settlement, and later became known as the most densely populated place on earth, a lawless labyrinth where crime, commerce, and community co-existed.
Nearly 30 years on from the Walled City’s demolition — Kowloon Walled City Park now sits in its place — this project will offer a unique insight into the people who lived there.
11am to 6pm until Sunday, December 8 at, Blue Lotus Gallery, 28 Pound Lane, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Free.
Club Third will be hosting this solo exhibition by Beijing-born, Hong Kong-raised artist Elaine Keung called “Go Nuts,” which aims to challenge our perceptions of, and blur the boundaries between, high and low art. The paintings are made using traditional brush and acrylic, yet contain pixelated or graphic design elements, and feature a playful character “going nuts.”
12pm to 7pm until Saturday (closed on Sundays), December 21 at, Club Third, Shop no. 2, G/F & Cockloft, Fook On Building, 192 Third Street, Sai Ying Pun. Free.
The Hong Kong French Film Festival 2019
The Alliance Française de Hong Kong will be presenting the 48th edition of the Hong Kong French Film Festival, which will screen over 40 films across two categories: Retrospective, which celebrates the French New Wave of the 1950s and ’60s; and French Cinepanorama, which highlights some of the best new French film releases of the year.
Films on show this weekend include The Truth, about a stormy reunion between an actress and her daughter after the mom publishes her memoirs; A Brother’s Love, about an unemployed academic called Sophia who “temporarily” moves in with her older brother Karim, but their bond is tested when Karim falls in love with Sophia’s doctor; and Fahim, the Little Chess Prince, based on the real-life story of an 8-year-old chess prodigy who’s forced to flee Bangladesh and arrives in Paris with his dad.
Until Tuesday, December 10 at, Various locations. HK$80 and upwards.
Hong Kong the way it was, by Ed van der Elsken
We’re all feeling a bit nostalgic about old Hong Kong these days (and with the ongoing protests, who can blame you?). F11 Foto Museum will be celebrating its fifth birthday with this exhibition of photos of old Hong Kong taken in 1959 and 1960 by Dutch photographer Ed van der Elsken. The collection will feature 130 black-and-white photos of Elsken’s 13-month stay in Hong Kong, a city he reportedly once described as “the prettiest of harbor cities.”
2pm to 7pm until February 28 (closed on Sundays) at F11 Foto Museum, 11 Yuk Sau Street, Happy Valley. HK$100 (adults), HK$50 (students and seniors aged 65 and above), free for children aged 11 and under, and disabled persons.
Hong Kong-born-and-bred brewery the Yardley Brothers will be hosting a craft beer party where they will unveil a brand new batch of Christmas ale. Christmas food will also be available, and music will be provided by punk-folk outfit Ballychunder.
7pm to 11pm at, Yardley Brothers beer, Unit 10, 5th floor, Block A, Wah Tat Industrial Centre, 8 Wah Sing Street, Kwai Hing. Free.
LKF live music venue The Aftermath — which features in our list of best live music venues in Hong Kong — will be hosting a night of craft beer, cocktails, and music provided by Indigo Town, Other Theories, The Sideburns, and Beer Garden.
9pm to 12am at, The Aftermath Bar, L/G, 57-59 Wyndham Street, Central. Free.
Saturday, December 7
Chez Trente Jazz OpenMic Vol.3
On the first Saturday of each month, cool art gallery Chez Trente will have an open mic jazz night, with drinks from HK$40. Music will be provided by Bruce Hunnisett (saxophone), Steve Mui (bass), Toshi Horiguchi (piano) and Joe Lung (drums), and if you think of yourself as a budding Ella Fitzgerald or Frank Sinatra, you’re more than welcome to take the mic. (And if you need an incentive to get on stage, everyone who goes on gets a free beer.)
9pm at, Chez Trente, 6 Chung Wo Lane, Central. Free.
The New York Times described it as “not what you wished for,” but the Guardian claimed it “really takes flight.” (As in, like a flying carpet. Get it?). Decide which side of the great “should the Aladdin remake exist” debate you’re on at this outdoor screening of Guy Ritchie’s reboot starring Mena Massoud as the poor street rat Aladdin, who tries to win the heart of Naomi Scott’s Jasmine with the help of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air a genie played by Will Smith trying his damnedest to fill the gigantic shoes of Robin Williams.
8pm at, The Hong Kong Observation Wheel and AIA Vitality Park, 33 Man Kwong Street, Central. HK$80.
Harmony HK is a platform and social enterprise that launched last year with the aim of spotlighting minority talents and raising awareness of Hong Kong’s refugee community. This weekend it will be celebrating its one-year anniversary with a special fashion show and musical performance.
7:30pm to 8:30pm at, Kerry Hotel, 38 Hung Luen Rd, Hung Hom. HK$370.
Interval Music: Piano and Harmonica Duo
Who doesn’t want a little live music with their coffee? Armand van Wijck and Siu Tin Chi join forces for a piano and harmonica performance, accompanied by Sara C. as guest singer. Music on the program includes modern jazz, classical, and film scores.
5pm to 7pm at, Interval Coffee Bar, UG/F, 33 Wellington Street, Central. Free.
Christmas Fair and Marketplace 2019
Co-working space The Hive will be hosting a Christmas market for your holiday shopping needs. There will be goods from deli supplier Not Only Olives, leather shoe store Vamoshe, baked goods from Baked Indulgence, and more.
There will also be workshops teaching you how to make your own DIY necklace from dried leaves (11am-2pm), and lip balm (2pm-3pm).
11am to 5pm at, The Hive Sai Kung, 5 Tai Mong Tsai Road, Sai Kung. Free.
A Night of Carols + Christmas Market
Sai Kung craft beer spot Momentai will be having carols, mulled wine, and scads of festive cheer this weekend. Entry is free, but they will be raising money for homeless charity ImpactHK, who (in a 2018 Coconuts feature) bill themselves as a homeless charity committed to adopting a more holistic approach to helping people off the streets. Music starts at 5pm, followed by a community singalong at 6pm.
5pm to 8pm at, Momentai, Kiosk 1, Sai Kung Waterfront, Wai Man Road. Free.
Sunday, December 8
No one does Christmas markets like Handmade Hong Kong, who will again be hosting this festive edition of their handmade craft market. There will be local and independent vendors selling their handmade and self-designed wares. There will be bags, jewelry, home accessories, fine art, stationery and paper crafts, and children’s accessories. Promo for the market promises visitors that it’ll be packed with one-of-a-kind and limited edition items.
11am to 6pm at, Discovery Bay Main Plaza, Discovery Bay Plaza, Discovery Bay Road, Discovery Bay, Lantau. Free.
New Jersey Italian restaurant Frank’s Italian opened earlier this year, and since then it’s made a name for itself serving up great Italian-American food with great music to boot, and it also makes no secret of the fact that it loves to play vintage vinyl records in the background as you eat.
Frank’s will be hosting a Sunday sale of old and new vinyl records, so if you’re still hunting for a gift for someone, and that person happens to love vinyl, this is the place to go. There will also be listening stations, vintage turntables, open decks, and food and drink.
12pm to 5:30pm at, Frank’s Music, 79 Wyndham Street, Central. Free.
Close the weekend with this outdoor screening of a film based on a musical where the creators shoehorned in a bunch of ABBA songs and crafted a storyline to fit around them — and it somehow works. The film is set on a Greek island where the main character Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is about to get married in a few days, but unbeknownst to her mother (Meryl Streep), Sophie has secretly invited three of her mom’s past lovers (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård) in a bid to try and find her father.
8pm at, The Hong Kong Observation Wheel and AIA Vitality Park, 33 Man Kwong Street, Central. HK$80.
This solo exhibition by artist Eric Fok features his signature paintings that amalgamate various historical eras into a single painting. In this exhibition, the artist attempts to envisage the future of Hong Kong and Macau on a series of woodblock paintings. It’s an exhibition that invites the viewer to imagine the future, while also remembering to engage with our past.
11am to 7pm until Saturday, December 7 at, Karin Weber Gallery, 20 Aberdeen Street, Central, SOHO. Free.
This exhibition is part of the Emerging Curators Project, and explores the relationship between “an art object and the practice that results in the art object.” It invites guests to explore how contemporary art has shifted its focus away from “art for art’s sake” and towards viewing objects on their own in isolation.
2pm to 8pm (Mon) and 11am to 8pm (Tues to Sun) until 31 December at JC Contemporary, Tai Kwun Contemporary, 10 Hollywood Road, Central. Free.
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