George Town City Day 2011

george town festival logo George Town was declared a city by Queen Elizabeth II on 1st January 1957. Since it is pretty unknown to many people, the government decided to acknowledge this day by organizing a public event to celebrate.

In the usual George Town fashion, the celebration City Day is held with a lot of fanfare. For 2011, it is organized by the committee of George Town festival together with the local council and many other NGOs.

george town city hall at the esplanade
The crowd at a George Town festival at the Esplanade

What can we expect to see during the day long festivities? First, the main event venue, the Esplanade would be decked with white topped tents. It's full of vendors selling food! Yes, the kind of street foods that make Penang world famous.

By nightfall, there is a magical night parade, comprises of at least thirty different art groups, performing their best. There will be a procession, with the grand stand being in front of the grand City Hall building.

This first City Day celebration, is dubbed as George Town 1111. Among others, there would be 1111 cyclists as part of the procession, together with the usual trade mark Penang cultural shows such as Chingay, lion dance and boria.

We will also be able to see traditional crafts, games, and also arts. It would be a fun-fill day for everyone.

street performance in george town
A giant drum and dancing lions

I advise people to leave their cars at home and come join the celebration on foot or by using public transportation.

The parade is scheduled to start at 8.30 pm. I imagine, there will be a nice firework display at the stroke of midnight, as the finale.

It is not too late to participate as a vendor.

Each participant would be given 100 packs of biodegradable food containers and 100 pieces of paper bags.

After all we try to reduce the usage of polystyrene and plastic bags during such a big event. This is in line with the state's vision of restoring the glory of the Pearl of the Orient by making it cleaner and greener.

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