George Town Festival ends with a grand finale on streets of heritage zone - The Malay Mail Online

GEORGE TOWN, Sept 1 — The highly successful annual George Town Festival (GTF) ended on a high note last night with exuberant public performances at street corners and within the compound of a youth centre between 4pm and midnight under the Victoria & Armenian Street (V&A) Project.

The V&A Project is one of the pillars of GTF where all the elements of the arts is made accessible to the public within the core heritage zone of George Town.

"The V&A Project is one of the true highlights of GTF for me where the streets are saturated with the spirit of George Town and become a stage for some of the most vibrant performances of the festival," said festival director Joe Sidek.

Sydney-based troupe Shaun Parker & Company incorporated five shopping trolleys in their high energy dance performance. — Picture by K.E.OoiOne of the highlights of the evening was the dynamic outdoor dance performance, Trolleys, by Sydney-based troupe, Shaun Parker & Company, where five dancers incorporated five shopping trolleys in their high energy dance performance; not just pushing the trolleys but in parts, swinging and somersaulting over them.

No Noise Percussions beating out a rhythm using daily items such as garbage cans and traffic cones. — Picture by K.E.OoiAlong Armenian Street and Victoria Street, street performances were held at intervals, for example, No Noise Percussions beat out a rhythm using everyday items of garbage cans, water pipes or traffic cones.

The Penang Dhol Blasters beat out catchy tunes using the heart-pounding dhol drums while Conduct-Me gave anyone from the audience a chance to conduct Penang's own Musica Sinfonietta orchestra.

Giant bubbles at Kapten Buehbossa's station as the crowd try their hand at creating bubbles using the webbed strings. — Picture by K.E.Ooi Children got to play with giant bubbles throughout the evening with Kapten Buehbossa who uses webbed strings to create giant bubbles while Mr John added some "magic" with his magic tricks.

Those who have always wondered how graffiti artists create their works got to watch graffiti artist Kenji Chai demonstrate "live" how he spray painted his work on wood patched together to make an uneven canvas.

A Capella belting out popular ballads and hit songs at Armenian Street corner. — Picture by K.E.Ooi In between the No Noise Percussions and Dhol drummers, A Capella crooned out hit songs and ballads to the crowd and all this time, other performances continued to be held at the basketball court at the Armenian Street/ Acheh Street youth centre.

Darinai Dance presented a contemporary Mak Yong performance while Pusaka presented a Kuda Kepang performance.

Over at Gat Lebuh Armenian and the cross section of Lebuh Victoria, more festivities took place as a variety of food including burgers, fried mushrooms, satay, roti jala and sushi were sold at the Food Street. A showcase of artworks and installations were also held at Syiok Wasabi.

There was also a free screening of short films from Tropfest South East Asia under the stars at the Poh Hock Seah Temple while handicrafts and handmade accessories were sold over at the Handmade Market at the youth centre.

Viva Circus puts on a vibrant performance of dexterity and fluidity. — Picture by K.E.OoiThe evening ended on a high note with another vibrant performance, Viva Circus, where Vivian Lea and her team of mime artists, aerialists and acrobatic performances wowed the crowd with their dexterity and fluidity.

GTF is supported by Malaysia Major Events, a division of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), an agency under Malaysia's Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

GTF is an annual month-long festival held in celebration of George Town's arts, heritage and culture after its inscription as a UNESCO world heritage site.

For more information on GTF, go to www.georgetownfestival.com or the George Town Festival Facebook page.

Source : http://www.themalaymailonline.com/features/article/george-town-festival-ends-with-a-grand-finale-on-streets-of-heritage-zone