Zero waste, lots of cheer at the White Christmas Street Fair
- Tong Chong Street in Taikoo Place will soon be transformed into a Christmas fair, with festive decorations, upcycling workshops and more
- The event aims to be sustainable and environmentally-friendly, with plans to reuse installations and recycle paper containers
University students worked with Swire Properties to launch the White Christmas Street Fair 2021 to raise money for Operation Santa Claus. Photo: SCMP/K. Y. ChengThis year, seven Hong Kong university students teamed up to achieve one goal: to design a Christmas fair that worked towards zero waste.
Together they created the White Christmas Street Fair, part of a youth empowerment initiative that aims to spread an important message to the community: a festive market can be sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Christmas idioms that will give your writing some cheer
The Street Fair – which will return this December to Tong Chong Street in Taikoo Place after a two-year break – aims to divert an average of 90 per cent or more of its waste from landfills. Instead, waste will be reused, recycled and composted for productive use in nature. A local pulp mill will also collect, clean, and recycle all paper containers used at the event.
“To integrate sustainability into the White Christmas Street Fair, we had to get into a sustainable development mindset at the idea-generating stage, and maintain this thinking every step of the way,” said Matthew Chan, one of the student organisers.
Thinking along these lines, the group, part of the Swire Properties Placemaking Academy, came up with the idea of using recyclable D-Board and FSC certified wood to minimise wastage for most installations and printed materials at the Fair. These materials will then be collected and reused in upcycling workshops with NGOs.
This year, the Street Fair will be transformed into Santa’s Whimsical Factory, with three beautifully decorated attractions: a Christmas Ball that gives visitors a delightful whirlwind of fluffy snow; Santa’s Ride, showing how the magical man gets around the world, and a Flying Christmas Truck, which delivers gifts and candies.
You’ll find 30 Christmas-themed booths selling an array of delightful decorations, accessories, handcrafted gifts, presents for your fur babies, festive treats, and more.
The fair also features four Christmas-themed workshops, where you have the chance to try neon light twisting and upcycled wood painting, as well as making Spanish rock candies and bath bombs.
The ultimate guide to what you can recycle this Christmas
A mix of Christmas classics and live music will certainly get you in a festive mood, as well as a live performance by up-and-coming singer Panther Chan.
All proceeds from the Fair will be donated to the fundraising campaign Operation Santa Claus, which aims to give back to communities in need in Hong Kong.
Admission to the fair is free of charge, and workshops range in price from HK$40 to $HK70 each.
Did you get a present that’s not really “you”? It’s totally fine to regift it
When: 2-5 December
Time: 2-3 December: 12pm to 8pm; 4-5 December: 1pm-7pm
Where: Tong Chong Street, Taikoo Place, Quarry Bay
Admission: Free of charge