AFTER MONTHS OF turbulence, Hong Kong is experiencing a tidal wave of feel-good campaigns aimed at revitalising the city. Singing We Shall Overcome on rotation may not quite have the desired effect. But how about drinking and eating all day while soaking up some street performances?
Welcome to the SoHo Street Carnival, an event designed to 'banish the post-Sars blues' that will be held in Staunton Street on Sunday. With a theme of 'SoHo Unplugged', the eight-hour festival will see the area closed to traffic from 10am to make way for alfresco dining and street performances. There will be acoustic music and artists, including dancers and cartoonists, who will perform in any available space to create a 'relaxing atmosphere'.
The carnival may be seen as just another event designed to sweep away the Sars-induced gloom. But what sets it apart from the rest of the pack, characterised by loud fanfare and over-enthusiasm, may be the realistic views held by the organiser and participating restaurants.
'We're not trying to make it the biggest carnival in the area. People are not going to get over-excited because there will be no live [amplified] music. Plus we're in the rainy season so the weather might be unstable,' says entrepreneur Nimal Jayawardena, who's the chairman of the SoHo Association, the carnival's organiser. 'The carnival's not about commercial benefits - it's just about having fun and getting people to talk about SoHo again.'
Jane Noble, manager of Le Tire Bouchon, agrees. 'I don't think the event will make any difference to our business. People are still cautious about going out and spending,' says Noble, whose restaurant will have a wine booth on Staunton Street. 'People just need to get on with their lives, have some nice food and not worry about the burden they have carried for the past few months. It [the carnival] won't be amazing - but it will be fun.'
The more than 2,000 people who attended last October's first SoHo Street Carnival will know what Noble means. Shortly after the event, Lan Kwai Fong and Wan Chai organised similar carnivals and drew even bigger crowds. And apparently we are quite in the mood for outdoor parties in this post-Sars era. This month a section of Lockhart Road in Wan Chai is being closed for alfresco dining on Sundays as part of the Starry Starry Night parties which unfortunately have been hampered by poor weather.
Jayawardena believes more street entertainment events are on the cards. 'There'll definitely be more because everyone will be jumping on the bandwagon,' he says. 'But you can't do it every weekend and expect crowds to turn up. You have to come up with a different strategy.'