Last Friday, August 27, 2010, Vogue China celebrated its 5th anniversary with the presentation of its photo exhibition “The Best of Vogue China: Five Years,” and a glamorous party awash with supermodels and champagne.

The day began around 4pm, when a press conference with models Fei Fei Sun, Karlie Kloss, Patricia van der Vliet, Du Juan, Liu Wen and Ming Xi arrived to answer questions and, of course, speak glowingly of Vogue.

Who's the best Swedish drummer in Beijing? Jonathan (Tan Tan) from P.K.-14 must be popping into many of your heads. But, there's a girl I like better than him. Last year, I saw her at this random gig at MAO, it was so powerful and energetic, and I was totally shocked that all this was from a doesn't-seem-strong-at-all girl behind the drum kit. I didn’t even remember the name of the band, while I somehow remembered her nationality. A year later, morning while I was on my way to work, I noticed this girl in standard professional outfit: white shirt, skirt, heels, was walking in front of me, and it was this awesome chick-drummer. I talked to her a little bit and told her that I think her drumming skill is amazing. She looked so happy and surprised... I think that made her day. That was when I found out that the band’s name is Nakoma, who will be playing at 13 Club Saturday night (Aug. 21) and MAO Livehouse on Sunday night (Aug. 22).

These days, there are almost too many food options in town. There are French cheeses and South African wines as well as Iberico hams and tuna flown in, daily, from Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji market. It’s enough to make you forget you live in Beijing. But wait – you do live in Beijing. When was the last time you thought about local free-range chickens? Or bought the in-season fruit from local markets and not imported mangos from Jenny Lou’s?

Metal and hardcore bands are all trying to hide from the sun, but the sad news is that this Saturday marks the beginning of autumn according to the lunar calendar. Time to party while the weather's going to let us.

Canadian rock couple Handsome Furs are visiting China for the second time - they present their mix of electro and rock at 2 Kolegas on Sunday (NOT, as we mistakenly listed in the print edition of The Beijinger, on Monday! Apologies to all for that slip-up).

This Saturday, Volcom is throwing a party for anyone interested in learning to screen print t-shirts - or just sitting back and enjoying some free drinks and live music.

American clothing brand Volcom (www.volcom.com) will be supporting a printing project in Shanghai and Beijing, titled Volcom x Young Emerging Chinese Artists Screen Printing Workshop.  

Hong Kong-based DJ Yeodie has played top clubs from Tokyo to New York and back in a career that’s included dropping beats for Mick Jagger, Korean pop sensation Rain and Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho – though probably not all at the same time, we think. He even tested his acting skills with an appearance as “tennis player” in Aussie teen soap Home & Away.

Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, is currently in China with her family for a little sightseeing and a visit to the Expo in Shanghai. Last night, she gave a talk at the Bookworm about her career, autobiography, and efforts to aid women around the world. As Mrs. Blair is a long-time advocate of women’s rights in the workplace, her discussion focused mainly on the challenges women face breaking into traditionally male-centric fields like law.

My experiences with puppets have consisted mainly of whatever Jim Henson offered me as a child, whether it was green banjo-playing frogs to David Bowie’s cuddly, diabolical friends in Labyrinth. No, this month the Beijing stage will instead be welcoming performances courtesy of shadow puppets. Yep, that's right, we’ll be seeing the return of The Execution of the Judge of Hell, the brainchild of 26-year-old French director, Sarah Oppenheim, and brought to fruition with the talents of the Han Feizi Shadow Puppet Company and classically trained Beijing Opera performers. Produced last year for the first time as part of the 2009 Croisements Festival, it’s back and according to Oppenheim, full of beautiful albeit barely perceptible variations on last year’s show. Here's what Oppenheim had to say.

The 48 Hour Film Project, started in Washington DC in 2001, challenges filmmakers to write, shoot, edit, and present a complete short film in just one weekend. The project has now spread to six continents, and it’s coming to Beijing on Friday, July 30. We sat down with Peter Sallade, the event’s organizer, to get the story on this world-famous filmmaking experiment.

The cream of the NBA - if you excuse Yao's injury status - hit ChinaDoll tonight. If you ever wanted to party with people who are going to be much taller than they look on television then tonight is the night. ChinaDoll suggest that you might be best booking a table for the visit of these genuine ballers. Holler at the 'Doll on 138 1108 1896 or 159 0104 5119.