International Parade with outreach programs across the city

The 2024 Macao International Parade will happen on the streets of Macau this Sunday (March 24) and an additional outreach program will be held over the week, mostly on the weekend.

A total of 64 local groups and around 20 performing groups from different countries and regions will present a series of performances in the community. These performances started on March 17 and will continue until March 23 (Saturday), the day in which more events will take place.

The interactive exhibition “Confessing in Springtime” designed by the Three People Art and Literature Club is one of these extended activities and will be held from March 21 to 24 at Jorge Álvares Square from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Three performances of the “Dynamic Rhythm Wooden Dummy” are also expected to take place on Saturday (March 23) but this time at the Rotunda de Carlos da Maia (popularly known as Three Lamps). This performance combines Red Boat Wing Chun (Kung Fu) and the beats of gongs and drums in Cantonese opera and will be presented by Macau Wu Jun Fu Yueju Opera Role Association.

On the same day, a Street Art Carnival will be held in the central district from St. Dominic’s Square to Tap Seac Square from noontime until 4 p.m. This activity includes a parade procession composed by local and foreign art groups including Afuma, African Masks, Dodos, Little Comma Theater Company, Cal y Canto Teatro, Grande Cantagiro Barattoli, Macau Anglican College Primary Percussion Ensemble, MGRASSU, Odília Nunes, Dulce Duca, and A La Fresca, and will showcase their skills and present a spectrum of performances including African stilt-walkers, colorful mask dances, bewitched dodo birds, Mulan gatecrashing, dolls in one orchestra, Oolong nannies, kite-flying, acrobatics on roller skates, miniature musical puppets, and musical flash mobs in anticipation of the full parade that will take place on the following day.

From 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Tap Seac Square, experienced puppet-maker Mike Troxel from Norway will also perform with his peculiar puppets while the Autin Dance Theatre from the United Kingdom will stage a performance that includes rolling a giant wheel.

Voters for awardees, photo contest entrants invited

The festival will feature auxiliary, popular awards as well as a photography contest, for which public participation is invited, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) said.

The IC elaborated that eight awards would be available for over 80 art groups participating in the Parade to compete for, including the “Most Popular”, the “Most Energetic”, the “Most Creative”, and the “Best Performance”, among others.

The photography contest, meanwhile, requires entrants to take the theme of the parade this year and feature shots of the performances, atmosphere, performers and events. The contest is open to all Macau residents aged 12 or above, and each participant can submit up to five photos before Apr. 8. The contest offers a Champion Award, a first Runner-Up Award, a second Runner-Up Award, and 15 Merit Awards.