2013 International Women’s Day Celebration Celebration @ “308 – 5 Year Anniversary Celebration

Date: 8 March 2013
Time: 5.30pm
Venue: Esplanade

Penang State Advisory Committee on Women, Family & Community Development and the Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC) is organising an International Women’s Day celebration as part of the State Government's "308 – 5 Year Anniversary" event . The women’s day celebration is also in conjunction with the International Women’s Day (IWD) that is celebrated all around the world every 8 March. The aim of the women’s celebration by the state government is to assist in creating awareness on violence against women and promoting gender equality.

The Penang State Government has chosen "Penang Women Rising" as its theme for this year’s celebration.  The theme resonates with the activities and programmes undertaken by the State Government to further raise women’s access and visibility in the economic, political and social spheres.

There will be booths set up throughout the celebration with information on programmes to empower and promote gender equality, a story-telling competition for children on women who inspire them, performances from community groups, and many more. The celebration will open with a traditional Kompang performance, followed by a dance called "1 Billion Rising" by the Women’s Centre for Change (WCC) and the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA). A speech will then be given by Y.B. Lydia Ong Kok Fooi, Penang State Exco for Women, Family and Community Development, as well as Penang Chief Minister, Y.A.B. Mr Lim Guan Eng. Other performances include a traditional Indian dance performance called "Odissi" by The Temple of Fine Arts, Line Dancing by Penang Family Health Development Association (FHDA) and a poem called "Wake Up My Sister" by WCC and WABA.

Refreshments will be provided and all are invited to join. For more information, please contact 04-2614590 (Exco Office) / 04-2612835 (PWDC) or email yeelaixuan@gmail.com / rubini.maheswaran@pwdc-1.org.my.

French Night Masters Concert

French Night Masters concert

Date: 10^th March 2013

Time: 8.15pm

Venue: Auditorium Dewan Sri Pinang

Ticket RM 15, RM 25, RM 35

Penang Philharmonic present the very first concert of the year 2013, “French Night Masters Concert” on the 10^th of March 2013 at Auditorium Dewan Sri Penang.

Led by conductor Dato' Woon Wen Kin, the French Night Masters Concert will breathe life to musical pieces by French composer Saint-Saëns. Pianist Carolyn Low will be playing 3 pieces;Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 44, Symphony No. 1, Op. 2 and Danse Bacchanale.

Carolyn Lo May Yeeng is from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She graduated from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio with a Masters degree in Piano Performance under the guidance of Dr. Siok Lian Tan in May 2011. She also holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of Newcastle, Australia.

Tickets are sold at RM15, RM25 and RM35

For more information, please contact  Mr Ramesh 04-2622462.

 

Kimo Hussey (Hawaiian Ukulele Master) Solo Concert and Ukulele Workshop in Penang

Date & Time: -Solo Concert - 28 March 2013, 8pm

Beginner Ukulele Workshop – 30 March 2013 (8.00-10.15pm) / 31 March (3.00-
5.15pm)

Venue: Wawasan Open University

Good news for all Ukulele players and fans! Hawaiian ukulele master, Kimo Hussey will be making a trip to Penang for a solo concert, at Wawasan Open University this 28 March followed by a ukulele workshop for beginners on 30 and 31 March. Presented by Manuel Ukulele, this is the first time a Hawaiian ukulele player performs a solo concert in Malaysia. As part of his tour, Kimo will also be visiting Taiwan, China, Thailand, Australia and Canada. For the concert, he will be performing pop songs and also traditional Hawaiian songs along with a few popular Chinese songs.

The workshop is a great starting point for those who are interested but have not played the instrument and also for beginner level players. Manuel Ukulele aims to share the joy of playing the ukulele by encouraging more Malaysians to learn and pick-up this 4-string instrument, as it has been recognized as the world’s easiest instrument by Guinness World Record.

Kimo Hussey started playing the ukulele at the age of five and is currently a much sought after performer and teacher. He has produced a solo ukulele CD called “Eminent Ukulele” and is also the author of a multiple award winning Hawaiian songbook called “He Mele Aloha” which has sold millions of copies all around the world. Previously, he was the director of the Ukulele Guild of Hawaii, a Board Chair for Sounding Joy Music Inc., and the Board Chairman and Founder of the Pacific Music Foundation, a non-profit organization specializing in Hawaiian music. He is currently conducting workshops and seminars all around the world and is planning to release a new CD this year.

Tickets for the concert is priced from RM68 to RM118, and the workshop at RM60 per person (students at RM35). For ticket purchase and further enquiries, contact 012-4613006/04-2280728 or visit www.manuelukulele.com. Alternatively, drop by at Manuel Ukulele at 70, Lorong Kinta 10400 George Town, Penang.

George Town, Penang rated as Top 4 in the ‘8 Great Places to Retire Abroad’ by Kiplinger

George Town was recently voted as the fourth best place to retire by Kiplinger, a publisher of business forecast and personal finance advice based in Washington D.C. Featured in Yahoo! Finance, George Town is listed after Medellin in Columbia, Dubrovnik in Croatia, and Salinas in Ecuador and the ranking is based primarily on cost of living and other factors such as health care, ease of travelling to the U.S. and the climate. The article also included a hypothetical monthly budget for retired American couples as a guide for their retirement planning.

Cities after George Town are Bilbao in Spain, Coronado in Panama, Galway in Ireland and Tlaxcala in Mexico. As part of their research, three experts on overseas retirement such as ExpatExchange.com, Liveandinvestoverseas.com and InternationalLiving.com were also consulted.

In terms of lowest living cost alone, it is mentioned that Penang and also Malaysia came in third after Thailand and Philippines. Their research also shows Malaysia My Second Home has received 19,488 foreigners including 815 North Americans over the past decade. George Town is also stated in the article to provide affordable and quality medical and dental services.

To read the article, visit: here.

Penang World Music Festival 2013 Features Music From Bali, Indonesia

Date: 30^th & 31^st March 2013

Venue: Penang Botanic Gardens

Calling all music lovers to the next Penang World Music Festival PWMF), to be staged on 30 and 31March 2013 at the Penang Botanic Gardens’ Quarry Park!

One of the 12 international world music bands that will be performing is “Saharadja” from Bali, Indonesia.

Formed in Bali in 2002 by acclaimed Indonesian trumpeter and vocalist Rio Sidik, and Western Australian violinist Sally Jo, Saharadja takes the inherent spirituality of their home island of Bali and promises to take the beauty of all things and transform them into music.

This energetic 8 piece group plays range of instruments including the trumpet, electric violin, didgeridoo, sitar, djembe, sarod, darabuka, Irish tin whistle, congas, fretless bass, drums and a large assortment of percussion instruments. Their free form jazz roots are evident in their sound and the improvisatory nature of jazz has allowed them to branch into a terrific range of rhythmic traditions deriving from India, the Middle East, continental Europe, South America, Africa, China, and the British Isles.

PWMF 2013 tickets can be purchased at RM80 per adult and RM40 per child for the one-day pass, and RM140.00 per adult and RM70.00 per child for the two-day pass. Tickets can be purchased at www.penangworldmusic.gov.my.

Tickets can also be purchased at Level 53 Komtar, Switch Outlets, Queensbay Mall and our official tour operator, Discovery Overland Holidays

For more information on PWMF 2013 or ticket purchase contact 016-4110000 or info@visitpenang.gov.my. 

Penang Bridge International Marathon 2013 Early-Bird Registration to open in early March

The Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM) online registration will be opened on 1 March for early-birds this year! This year, the marathon will be held on 17 November 2013.

The event was a huge success last year, attracting up to 34,500 participants which is an increase of 7,000 participants from year 2011.

The categories for the PBIM 2013 consist of a Full Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k Run and a Fun Run. This year, the distance for the Fun Run will be reduced to 7km instead of 10km like the previous years. Aside from that, the Full Marathon will also include a new Veteran classification for the Women’s category and not just for the Men's category. The Full Marathon is opened to those who are aged 18 and above and aside from the Veteran category, runners can also opt to go for the Open category. For the half marathon, it is also open to men and women above the age of 18 years, while the 10k marathon is divided into open (aged 18 and above) and junior (aged 13 and above) categories. The Fun Run is opened to those from age 13 years and above.

Full, half and 10k marathons are competitive and will be timed. For competitive runs, a running vest, running bib, finishers' medal and certificate will be given; while a t-shirt and certificate will be given to fun runners. The participation fee for each category is as the following:

Category	Early bird 1 (1/3-31/3)	Early Bird 2 (1/4-31/5)	Normal Fee (1/6-31/7)	Late Registration (1/8 – 30/9)
Full Marathon	RM60	RM80	RM90	RM100
Half Marathon	RM45	RM60	RM80	RM90
10K Open	RM40	RM50	RM65	RM80
10K Junior	RM30	RM40	RM45	RM50
Fun Run	RM15	RM20	RM25	RM30

For this year, the final dateline for closing of registration is on 30 September 2013, while early-bird registration will be in two stages which will be from 1 March till 31 May.  Normal rate will be charged thereafter.  For the late comers, a higher fee will be applicable if you register after 31 July 2013.
Stay tuned for more updates and other news on the APBIM! For registration, log on to http://www.penangmarathon.gov.my.

Penang's Popular Music of the 1940s,1950s & 1960s Exhibition

Venue                                  : No.57,Jalan Macalister,10400,Georgetown,Penang

Time                                     : 9am until 5pm (Open Daily except Public Holidays)

Duration of the Exhibition : 1st February until 30th April 2013

Admission                            : FREE

The Penang State Museum & Art Gallery cordially invites you to the Penang's Popular Music of the 1940s,1950s & 1960s Exhibition from the 1^st February to the 30^th April at No.57, Jalan Macalister.

This exhibition aims to celebrate the musical heritage of Penang, especially the decades of the 1940s,1950s and 1960s.It also aims to reference this musical heritage to the overall political and social contexts of the time. Malaysia's legendary singer-songwriter and composer Tan Sri P. Ramlee are among the many famous faces you'll find at this exhibition.

This exhibition will engage different age groups and backgrounds through not just the displays and interactive activities, but also through organising a series of wrap-around events over three months. These will include competitions, talks, workshops and film shows.

Penang State Museum & Art Gallery welcomes everyone to come over and indulge yourself in an exciting and fun journey of the ‘old-school’ music, culture and heritage!
For more information please contact Penang State Museum at 04-226 1439.