Once upon a time, there were 15 little storytellers...
Most children might be happier listening to a story, but for 15 youngsters yesterday, the challenge was in the telling.
The competitors, aged from four to 11 years old, were taking part in the 30th Hong Kong Children's Storytelling Competition. Their renditions of familiar and not-so-familiar tales, complete with actions, kept the audience of more than 1,000 enchanted for 21/2 hours in the auditorium of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hunghom.
The 15 performers had already beaten about 1,000 other contestants for the right to appear on stage yesterday.
There were three age group sections, a mother-and-child section and a section for teachers and children. There was also an overall winner.
The show began with the youngest contestants, the kindergarten category, and four-year-old Kitty Lam Pui-ying was the first to tell her story.
The tiny girl, who only stood as high as the waist of the competition hostess who accompanied her on to stage, opened her mouth but no words came out. After regaining her composure, she told her story about a witch and, appropriately, a kitty. She was later voted the most popular contestant by viewers of an internet simulcast.
However, the judges awarded the prize for the kindergarten section to a confident Jason Wong for his rendition of The Three Little Pigs. Jason said he would use his $2,000 prize money to buy toy guns, game cards and DVDs.
The aim of the competition was to give children a chance to build confidence and encourage an interest in reading, according to the event's organisers, RTHK, the Bank of East Asia and the Boys and Girls Association.
The overall prize went to four children from Pui Ling School of the Precious Blood, with 5-year-old Ho Che-chun as main storyteller.
Pop singer Alex Fong Lik-sun and all-girls group Cookies entertained on stage. The judging panel included Miss Hong Kong Mandy Cho-lee and founding Liberal Party chairman Allen Lee Peng-fei.
