This Easter holiday, from 14 to 16 April, Sha Tin Racecourse and Penfold Park will once again be the venue for one of Hong Kong’s most popular Easter festivals as The Hong Kong Jockey Club reaches out to the community with its annual Riding High Together Festival. Now in its third year, the Club’s flagship community event aims to inspire Hong Kong people with a positive can-do spirit and to showcase the Club’s dedication to keep riding high together with the people of Hong Kong for a better future. In total close to 60,000 people attended the past two Festivals.
The Club believes in the intrinsic social value of arts and culture. With the theme “Let’s Kindle Our Creativity”, this year’s Festival will celebrate arts and culture and the Club’s long-standing support in this area. In addition to horse encounters and youth football programmes, an array of edutainment activities and games will encourage visitors of all ages to explore their imagination and expand their creative horizons.
The three-day Festival will feature over 70 activities in ten zones arranged around five themes: Inspiration & Fun, Let’s be Active, Horse Encounters, Snap & Share, and Live Performances. Please refer to the separate factsheet for details.
Kindling creativity
Master Classes conducted by acclaimed artists will be a new feature of this year’s Festival. Under the guidance of master artists, visitors will have the chance to embrace diverse art forms by creating different works of art, ranging from local traditional art to modern Western creations. These include mini floral plaques, fire dragons, traditional paper cutting, dough figurines, Western calligraphy and graffiti.
Also helping visitors to view things from a different perspective – and another new highlight this year - will be four virtual reality games, one of which will enable them to explore the world of famous Dutch artist, Vincent van Gogh.
Renowned cross-media artist Simon Ma’s large-scale “Loving Hearts” installation art will be on display throughout the Festival. Visitors can interact with the different-sized inflatable hearts, creating comforting feelings that will warm the heart. They will also undoubtedly be a popular photo opportunity.
World record attempt – “The Largest Sculpting Lesson”
Over the past two years, the Festival has seen two world records set for “The World’s Largest Fingerprint Painting” and “The Longest Paper Chain of Cheering Messages”. This year nearly 1,000 participants from non-governmental organisations, primary and secondary schools will attempt to set another Guinness World Record for the “The Largest Sculpting Lesson” under the tutelage of renowned sculptor Johnson Tsang. Visitors will be able to witness this amazing feat as the Club and the people of Hong Kong join hands to demonstrate their “can-do” spirit.
Football activities for families and youth players
A new feature under the “Pursuit of a Football Dream” zone will be “Parent-Child Football Fun”, where parents can team up with their children to show them what teamwork is all about. Meanwhile, successful youth players taking part in the HKJC Soccer 4 tournament will be selected for further training by Manchester United coaches, with the very best four having the opportunity to train at Manchester United’s training base in the UK over the summer. Also making a guest appearance will be Manchester United football legend Peter Schmeichel, who will play with and teach kids useful footballing skills.
World-record holding Rope Skipping Team and other performances
The medal-winning Hong Kong Rope Skipping Team will showcase their skills in a thrilling performance, demonstrating their passion for the sport and their determination to keep on pursuing ever higher levels of achievement.
Other performances include Puppet Theatre, Unicycling Encounters and African Drum Jam, all promising visitors an unforgettable experience.
Horse encounters
As always, the Festival will provide plenty of opportunities to get up close and personal with horses. Local equestrian riders will demonstrate their cross-country and show jumping skills in Penfold Park. A dressage show will feature four pairs of horses and riders in a synchronised routine set to music. And there will be photo opportunities with cute Shetland ponies as well as pony rides for kids.
Festival tickets
Starting from 10:00am on Monday, 6 March, tickets can be bought online at Ticketflap. Each ticket costs HK$60 and includes Festival entry for one person (worth HK$10) and five game coupons (worth HK$50 in total). Each person may buy a maximum of five tickets. Each ticket holder can bring a child aged 3 or below to the Festival free of charge. Tickets will be available on a first-come-first-served basis.
As there will be equine shows and other horse activities, for reasons of public safety, dogs will not be allowed to enter Penfold Park during the Festival.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club
The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a not-for-profit enterprise dedicated to community betterment. Through its integrated business model of world-class racing, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charity and community contribution, the Club generates substantial economic and social value and assists the Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2015/16 the Club donated a record HK$3.9 billion to charity and paid a record HK$20.9 billion in tax. It is Hong Kong’s largest single tax payer and one of the world’s largest charity donors. Committed to global excellence and giving back to society, the Club is always “riding high together for a better future” with the people of Hong Kong.
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Through a a£á?Bun Scrambling Gamea£á? and other interactive games offered at the a£á?Riding High Together Exhibitiona£á?, the public can learn more about Hong Konga£á?s intangible cultural heritage.
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The group games in the a£á?Family Love and Carea£á? section carry the theme of arts and culture. These games not only enhance participantsa£á? knowledge of arts and culture but also help strengthen the bonds between family members.
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Virtual World is a new highlight this year. Visitors can create 3D art or explore the world of Vincent van Gogh.
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Photo 4 and 5
Master Fu Lu-yeung (Photo 4) and Pantone C (Photo 5), together with other masters, will showcase their craftsmanship at the Festival.
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Visitors will have a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with horses. Children can pose for pictures next to cute Shetland ponies.
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The Hong Kong Rope Skipping Team will excite Festival goers with their thrilling performance. The team includes Male Freestyle Champion of the 11th World Rope Skipping Championships Chow Wing-lok (right) and members of the world record-holding 4 x 45s Double Dutch Speed Relay team Lau Ho-nam (middle) and Wong Kai-ming (left).
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Renowned cross-media artist Simon Maa£á?s large-scale a£á?Loving Heartsa£á? installation art will be on display throughout the Festival.
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