It’s the last weekend of August and Macau has so many things to offer! We’ve gathered a selection of the coolest and trendiest things to do these next days in and around the city, so be sure to check it out. It’s your last chance to visit A Pearl of the Sea, a very interesting exhibition of Macau’s urban evolution. There’s also a Southeast Asian food market, art exhibitions, and lots more to enjoy with friends and family.
Macao International Music Festival 2020
(See featured image above)
Due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the Macao International Music Festival, originally scheduled for October this year, will have a different format. Themed “For a Special Year”, this year’s music festival presents nine programs in a total of 20 performances by local music groups from 22 August, including concerts, and other activities such as “Enjoy Music in Cinema”, “Street Piano Programme” and the eco-friendly “Musical Instruments DIY Workshop”. The program aims to take music to each and every corner of the city, satisfying residents’ needs for cultural diversity, as well as other places plagued by the pandemic. This year’s Festival presents free of charge concerts and activities.
The Macao International Music Festival has a history of over 30 years. Affected by the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus, many uncertainties arise in regard to artists’ transportation, logistics, and rehearsal arrangements, resulting in the inability of overseas performing groups to come to Macau. Therefore, the Cultural Affairs Bureau, organizer of the Macao International Music Festival, decided that this year’s Festival will be largely based on local concerts, with community performances presented by 18 local music groups totaling over 300 musicians.
When: From now till December, 2020
Musical Instruments DIY Workshop registration – from 9:00am, August 17, 2020 onwards
Where: Iao Hon Garden, Dr. Sun Yat Sen Municipal Park, Lok Yeong Building, Flower City Park and other places across the city
How much: Free admission
For more information, check their Facebook page
Pool Days by MO
Mandarin Oriental, Macau is offering everyone the chance to fully enjoy their swimming pool overlooking the wonderful city of Macau. Guests can enjoy their day passes on weekends but also weekdays full of sun and swimming all day long! Their day passes include MOP $1,000 dining credit to spend by the pool on lots of food choices, healthy juices or cocktails, while other options even include a bottle of champagne to share between friends or with someone extra special. These passes are eligible for groups of up to four guests.
When: From August 1, 2020
Where: Mandarin Oriental, Macau, 945 Avenida Dr. Sun Yat Sen, NAPE
How much: Weekday pool pass – MOP $1,400 (inclusive of MOP $1,000 dining credit), MOP $1,800 (inclusive of MOP $1,000 dining credit and one bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne)
Weekend pool pass – MOP $1,800 (inclusive of MOP $1,000 dining credit), MOP $2,200 (inclusive of MOP $1,000 dining credit and one bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne)
For more information and bookings, call +853 8805 8888, send an email to [email protected] or check their website
Southeast Asian Food Market at Grand Lapa, Macau
Spend an exotic evening at the only Southeast Asian Food Market on the lawn at Grand Lapa, Macau while overlooking NAAM Garden’s relaxing resort view. Over 10 stalls with six unique oriental flavors, their food market lets you embark on their Asia food tour and indulge in Thai, Indonesian, Macanese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Indian flavors, and much more!
This cool event also includes free flow of soft drinks and sparkling water! It’s a great one to take the whole family to, sit outside, and enjoy the fresh air in the city.
When: 6:30pm–9:30pm, Saturday, August 29, 2020
Where: Resort Lawn, Grand Lapa, Macau, 956-1110 Avenida da Amizade, Macau
How much: MOP $300 per adult, MOP $179 per child
For more information, call +853 8793 4818 or check the event’s Facebook page
*Limited seats available
A Pearl of the Sea – Exhibition of Macao’s Urban Evolution
Macau has been increasing land resources through reclamation since the mid-19th century, which subsequently has had a profound impact on its overall urban development. The gathering and integration of different cultures over the past centuries have resulted in the combination of Chinese and Western styles in the city’s architecture and the emergence of new landscapes amid urban development. A Pearl of the Sea – Exhibition of Macao’s Urban Evolution features 101 exhibits divided into four sections: Geographical Change, Past View and New Image, Infrastructure Constructions and A New Chapter, seeking to give both residents and tourists a better understanding of Macau’s achievements in a variety of fields over the last 20 years since the handover, and present a brand new historical image of Macau.
Urban functions of Macau have been improving with the completion of large infrastructure projects; through public transport facilities such as ferry terminals, sea-crossing bridges, the airport, and the Light Rapid Transit, Macau is connected to neighboring cities and many other places around the world. To complement the exhibition, an educational area and multimedia installations have been made available inside the venue to give visitors a more realistic and intriguing experience of Macau’s urban development.
When: December 27, 2019–September 6, 2020
Where: Macao Museum, 112 Praceta do Museu de Macau, Macau
How much: Free admission
For more information, call +853 2835 7911 or check the event’s website
3rd Light Night Market at Macau Fisherman’s Wharf
What are you planning to do with your summer weekends? Macau Fisherman’s Wharf has the best happenings! Join them for the exciting Night Market at Macau Fisherman’s Wharf and enjoy non-stop delicious food, beautiful handmade craft items, bouncy castle, and fun-packed games from over 80 booths. The Light Night Market is now ready for some fun family time so gather the gang and remember to come early!
When: Weekends, July 15–September 20, 2020
Where: Macau Fisherman’s Wharf, Avenida da Amizade e Avenida Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, NAPE, Macau
How much: Free admission
For more information, check their Facebook page
Macao Ready Go! Local Tours in Macau!
The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has launched a subsidy scheme for Macau residents joining tours run by local travel agencies in order to stimulate domestic tours. Follow Me Macau, helps local residents to book the best tours available and enjoy these special prices. Discover new sides of this worldly city for those who had no idea these gems existed. With more than 10 available tours, there are numerous options: history and tradition, architecture, casinos and resorts, and much more! Tours include transportation, certified guide, insurance, food allowance, and, of course, the tours themselves.
Always wanted to know more about Macau’s oldest neighborhoods but never got the chance? Well, here it is! What about heading to Cotai and find out all about its construction and architecture? There are tours for every interest, so be sure to plan ahead and check on their website which suits you best. Several include teamLab superNature adventures, while others invite the little ones to play in public gardens, while some even take you on a tour with Macau Airlines! The Sunshine Cruise line includes different routes but all have a Macau Cruise trip across Coloane–some might include visiting souvenir shops, a workshop on salted fish making, visiting Coloane Village, and much more.
When: June 22–September 30, 2020
Where: All across the city
How much: MOP $18 (non-discount price MOP $298)–MOP $138 (non-discount price MOP $418)
For more information and bookings, check their website, their Facebook page, send an email to [email protected] or WhatsApp to +853 6239 2527
A Retrospective of Collaborations with the Palace Museum
“A Retrospective of Collaborations with the Palace Museum” is an exhibition at the 1st-floor gallery of the Macao Museum of Art and that illustrates the achievements of the two decades of collaboration between this museum and the Palace Museum, featuring posters, books, and other documents. There are guided tours available.
When: January 11, 2020–September 27, 2020
Where: Macao Museum of Art, Avenida Xian Xing Hai, NAPE, Macau
How much: Free admission
For more information, check the museum’s website
Pose by the Macau LGBTQ+ Social Club
The Macau LGBTQ+ Social Club is calling all divas and supermodels! Is everyone ready to release their inner supermodel? If you are, then head out and enjoy a Night at the Ball. A place for you to strut your walk, pose and vogue, just like it was in 1970s Harlem New York ballrooms. Head out to D2 club on August 28 and be ready for a fabulous night on the town sipping up a few cocktails.
This fun social event is about bringing the Macau community together, meeting new people, and building existing and new relationships, so together people can build a stronger LGBTQ+ community in Macau. Join them for a fabulous night out and feel free to bring all your friends.
When: 10:00pm–6:00am, Friday, August 28, 2020
Where: D2 Club, Macau Fisherman’s Wharf, Avenida da Amizade e Avenida Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, NAPE, Macau
How much: MOP $140 per person (inclusive of two drinks)
For more information, check the event’s Facebook page
Concert “Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day: A Tribute to Nature”
MGM brings you a different symphony experience, allowing the audience to watch the graceful movement in all directions for the first time. This year is the 250th anniversary of the birth of the famous musician Beethoven and the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. MGM and the Macau Orchestra have joined forces to bring Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F major, “The Pastoral”. Beethoven once expressed his love for the country: “No one loves life in the country more than me. Really, woods, trees, and rocks can create sounds that humans want to hear.” This time let the audience in the city through classical melody. Feel the beauty of nature and think about the connection between modern people and nature.
This performance jumps out of the traditional performance venue and dances with Beethoven under the canopy of MGM TV Plaza. It integrates classical music into modern architecture that combines innovative technology and nature, and feels what Beethoven wrote together: “After the rain, I clear the countryside and find the pastoral scenery in my heart”. There is a guided tour of “Earth Day X Nature’s Art” at the same venue, which will take participants to learn about the natural and artistic aesthetics in this award-winning MGM Cotai building and regain our appreciation and cherishing of the earth. You might as well enjoy the symphony-themed afternoon tea while enjoying the performance and let the feeling sublimate. Learn more about the amazing natural art piece and the aesthetics at MGM Cotai can join the “Earth Day X Nature’s Art” guided tour and appreciate the beauty of Mother Earth. There’s also a Symphony afternoon tea and a moss ball planting workshop.
When: Symphony concert – 2:30pm–3:15pm, August 29 and 30, 2020
“Earth Day X Nature’s Art” guided tour – 12:15pm–1:00pm and 4:30–5:15pm, August 29 and 30, 2020
Symphony afternoon tea – 2:00pm–6:00pm, August 29 and 30, 2020
Plant workshop – 3:30pm–4:15pm, August 29 and 30, 2020
Where: Symphony concert and “Earth Day X Nature’s Art” guided tour – Seebo Plaza, MGM Cotai, Avenida da Nave Desportiva, Cotai
Symphony afternoon tea – Shibo Refreshment, MGM Cotai, Avenida da Nave Desportiva, Cotai
Plant workshop – Meiyi Lobby and Meishi Space, MGM Cotai, Avenida da Nave Desportiva, Cotai
How much: Symphony concert – Free admission
“Earth Day X Nature’s Art” guided tour – Free admission (reservation required)
Symphony afternoon tea – MOP $198 for two persons
Plant workshop – MOP $188 per person
For more information and bookings of the guided tours and workshops, call +853 8802 8888 or send an email to [email protected]. To book the Symphony Afternoon Tea-For Vision Tea, call +853 6683 1206 or send an email to [email protected]
“I Have Wiped the Pen on the Paper So Often It Seems Like a Drawing” – an Exhibition by Rui Rasquinho
The work presented in “I have wiped the pen on the paper so often it seems like a drawing” is the result of the New Visions project by the cultural organization BABEL, which annually presents an artist from Macau and whose central objective is to support contemporary artistic creation as well as to produce a critical discourse capable of placing local creation in a national and global context. In “I have wiped the pen on the paper so often it seems like a drawing” Rui Rasquinho explores the possibilities of drawing. In the entrance lobby of the Orient Foundation, several leaflets on xuan paper are presented, a practice that is already known to the local public and which appears here as a prelude to the questions that arise throughout the remaining three galleries.
The show evolves to work with a more complex definition, first through a diversification of the supports, giving the role of xuan instead of wood and other materials used in construction sites, presented in the second gallery of the exhibition. The third and fourth gallery feature drawing machines (one of which was created in collaboration with Rui Farinha) that pose a variety of questions: what is a drawing? what is an image? what is art? what is authorship?
When: August 20–September 22, 2020
Where: Casa Garden, 13 Praça de Luís de Camões, Macau
How much: Free admission
For more information, check the organizer’s Facebook page
