This celebration is to showcase the richness of the living heritage in Penang, in line with Penang status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There will be treasure hunt and Chinese New Year cooking demonstrations and lots of wonderful and interesting events during the night.

Seven thematic little “towns”, highlighting different cultural aspects related to Hokkien, Canton, Teochew, Hainan, Hakka, Wushu and Malaysian cultures will also be featured.

Download full itinerary.

Bollywood in action @ Esplanade

This August in Penang is a month filled with cultural excitement leading up to Malaysia’s 52nd National Day – MERDEKA! This month we are bringing the cultures of Penang exclusively to you! So make sure you mark your calendars because Esplanade in Action is featuring the enthralling dance of the Indian Culture in Penang this weekend!

Come watch and experience the fascinating dance of the Indian culture in Penang at the Penang Esplanade this Saturday 22nd August 2009 from 8pm to 9.30pm! You will be in for an unforgettable treat as the dance group of the Temple of Fine Arts in Penang will perform some ever-popular Bollywood dances and will also include an oldies theme medley which will feature indian dances from the 50′s up till the current times to give an insight to the evolving indian dance culture. So be prepared as they dance to the latest and also the classical dances just exclusively for you!

Be in awe of their spellbounding dance movements and costumes of vivid colours! That’s the enchanting Indian Culture for you! If you are really up for a fun filled memorable night, make sure you dance along with these talented dancers to the craze and excitement of Bollywood! See you there!

Esplanade in Action is brought to you by Penang State Tourism Development & Culture.

9.00am – 2.00pm Free Boat Ride – Lim Jetty, Weld Quay

9.00am – 11.30am “Street of Harmony” Heritage Walk “Street of Harmony” – Meet at Town Hall, Jalan Padang Kota Lama

9..00am – 5.00pm Penang Heritage Exhibition – INTI International College Penang, 1Z Jalan Bukit Jambul

10.00am – 5.00pm Food, Craft, Art & Music Festival – Dewan Sri Pinang, Lebuh Light

10.00am – 10.00pm Art International Festival (Art workshop, art forums & drama performance) – Town Hall & Wawasan Open University

11.00am – 7.00pm Exhibition on the Acheen Street Mosque History and Islamic Traditional Culture – Acheen Street Mosque, Lebuh Acheh

3.00pm – 5.00pm Gostan Forward a solo performance lecture by Marion D’Cruz – Penang Heritage Trust, 26 Lebuh Gereja

5.00pm – 10.00pm Food Stalls and Craft Demonstration – Islamic Museum Park, Lebuh Acheh

5.00pm – 7.00pm “Street of Harmony-Heritage Zone”

5.00pm – 9.00pm Hokkien Puppet Theatre – Cheah Kongsi, 8 Lebuh Armenian (Open House, 9.00am)

5.30pm – 9.30pm Teochew Opera – In front of Goddess of Mercy Temple, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling

5.00pm – 10.00pm Islamic Musical Performance – Acheen Street Mosque & 35 Lebuh Queen

5.00pm – 10.00pm Little Penang Street Market Craft and Food Corner of Little Penang Street Market – Lebuh Armenian

6.00pm – 10.00pm Open House – Meng Eng Soo Temple, Jalan Pintal Tali

6.30pm – 10.30pm Showcase of Teochew & Chinese Culture (Dragon Dance, 24 Seasonal Drum, Teochew Opera,Traditional Games, Chinese Dance & Teochew Delicacies) – Inside & in front of Teochew Association, 127 Lebuh Chulia

7.00pm – 10.00pm Indian Dance and Classical Music – Next to Kuil Arulmigu Mahamariamman, Lebuh Queen

8.00pm – 10.00pm Multi ethnic street performance – “Street of Harmony – Heritage Zone”

8.00pm – 10.30pm “Road to Dawn” Film Screening “Road to Dawn” – Penang Chinese Town Hall, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling

9.00pm – 10.30pm George Town Sebagai Tapak Warisan Dunia UNESCO Closing Ceremony of The 1st Anniversary George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site Celebration – Khoo Kongsi, Lebuh Cannon

Looking for activities for the family? Well, don’t look too far because the Art, Craft and Food Fair is just around the corner!

The Art, Craft and Food Fair (ACF), organised by the Women’s Development Organisation (WDO) of George Town and endorsed by the State Tourism Development and Culture, will be held at Dewan Sri Pinang along Lebuh Light from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm from 24 to 26 July 2009. Entrance is free.

Be sure to be there because with more than 60 art, craft and food stalls and various activities planned, the ACF promises to cater to the young and old alike. There will be a ceramic painting workshop and demonstration by a master ceramic painter from China and there will also be a ceramic competition which is open to the public. Among other activities include the “Young Stars Discovery Contest” and also the “My Beautiful Hometown, Penang Landmark” which is a colouring competition for children.

The objective for organising this fair is to attract artistic talents from across the board and also to commemorate the first year anniversary of George Town being listed by Unesco as a World Heritage Site

1. Hokkien Puppet Theatre @ Cheah kongsi 5pm-9pm;
2. Teochew Opera @ Goodess of Temple 5.30pm-9.30pm;
3. Islamic Musical Performance @ Acheen St Mosque 5pm-10pm;
4. Dragon dance, drums, tradtional games @ Teochew Association Chulia St 6.30pm-10.30pm;
5. Indian dance & Classical Music @ Kull Arulmigu Mahamariamman Queen St 7pm-10pm;
6. Multi ethnic Street performance @ "St of Harmony – Heritage Zone" 8pm-10pm;
7. Street market craft & food @ Armenian St 5pm-10pm.

Come and witness the stunning performance by the best Chingay masters this Sunday. Penang State Tourism Developement & Culture organize this first ever National Chingay Championship where 7 teams from Penang, Kedah and Perak will be battle to claim the National Championship title.

Rules & regulations and standard judging system has been formulated to ensure this championship event is a professional competition and a fair platform for the Chingay performers. This competition not only for the performers to compete with each other but to show their best to the audience and to the world.