2008 Apr 08 Nanluogu Xiang Street Festival Canceled
images by Simon Lim and Oak Taylor-Smith
The historic hutong alley of Nanluogu Xiang – home to a host of funky boutiques, cozy cafes, and hipster bars – was to host it's third street fair this weekend, but due to the sudden withdrawal of official permission, the event has now been postponed till "after the Olympics." Similar to last September's performance festival (which itself only went ahead after being postponed multiple times), this weekend's event would have seen the alley lined with street vendors, a fashion show organized by the folks from Plastered t-shirts and, in a creative attempt to bypass concerns about "outdoor" live music, storefronts turned into makeshift stages. However, despite earlier approval from the relevant local authorities, at the beginning of last week, the organizers of the event were suddenly informed that the festival is no longer being allowed to go ahead.
The postponement appears to be due to increased government sensitivity regarding any major outdoor events and follows on the heels of problems with several Shanghai shows (Dandi Wind and Shanghai Midi), heavy police presence at a recent attempt to organize a pillow fight at The Place, and Celine Dion's backing out of her Workers' Stadium show. Hopefully May's MIDI festival will be able to go ahead as planned!
Links and Sources
NLGX: Nanluoguxiang Street Festival, April 12-13! [POSTPONED]
imart: Notice of the postponement of festival (Chinese) 南锣鼓巷03 活动暂缓
Beijing by Foot: Nanluogu Xiang
Reports of Last Year's Festival
Beijing Boyce: Nanluoguxiang street party: get Plastered and more
CRI: 2007-09-13 Nanluoguxiang Festival
Plastered T-Shirts: Images from last year’s festival
Youtube: Gypsy Jazz at Nanluoguxiang Street Festival
You might also be interested in :
Win Tickets to Zoo Electronic Music Festival
The lack of DJs at Modern Sky Music Festival may have been disappointing to some, but fear not, the label has got even bigger plans - The ZOO Electronic Music Festival will be held on Oct 16 and Oct 17 at Haidian Exhibition Hall (inside Haidian Park), featuring DJ Spook, Pet Conspiracy, The Death Set, Classixx, Patrick Yu, LIman and many many more DJs and electronic bands. The party start at 8pm and last until midnight.
Modern Sky Refund Plan for Advanced Ticket Holders
Since all foreign acts for Modern Sky Music Festival are cancelled, you might want to get some of your money back. Despite the festival will still be held on time at Chaoyang Park, Modern Sky just came out with a refund plan with many options to go.
Modern Sky Music Festival: All International Acts Cancelled
If you're getting all excited about going to Chaoyang Park in the following week to see The Buzzcocks, The Futureheads, British Sea Power, The (Internaitonal) Noise Conspiracy...get ready for the disappointment - all 14 international acts have been cancelled for "unforeseen circumstances". That means half line-ups of the main stage will not be there.
Despite that, The 2009 Modern Sky Music Festival will still be on with two stages putting together to make up for the loss. The organizer is also coming up with a full refund plan which allows people who have already bought the tickets. Stay tune at our website for updates on that.
This is from Modern Sky:
Holiday Road Closure & Other Shutdown News
More details have been published of road restrictions and shutdowns during the National Day holiday. Nothing unexpected, but here is the rundown.Tibet Closed for Oct 1 (and other news)
Following on from yesterday’s announcement that Beijing Capital International Airport will be closed for several hours on the morning of October 1, news from local travel agents that Tibet will be closed to non-Chinese travelers from Thursday, September 24 to Thursday October 8.
