Kaohsiung-The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, also known as Weiwuying, will hold several free events over the Oct. 10 National Day long weekend to celebrate its fourth anniversary, the performing arts center in southern Taiwan said.
The free events include once-a-year backstage tours of the arts center’s four venues on Oct. 9-10. Those interested can sign up for the tours from noon Thursday through its website, Weiwuying said in a statement released Monday.
A “Swing Party” will be held at the center’s outdoor theater at 6 p.m. on National Day, while the Muddy Basin Ramblers will give a free performance at 9 p.m. at the center’s Banyan Plaza, a space between the four venues under one roof, the arts center said in the statement.
Market fairs will be held between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Oct. 8-10 (9:30 p.m. on Oct. 10) around the arts center, which sits on a 9.9-hectare lot next to Weiwuying Metropolitan Park in Kaohsiung’s Fengshan District, according to the statement.
The arts center also plans several ticketed performances at its four venues on Oct. 10, including a recital at the concert hall by organist Felix Hell, with the largest pipe organ in Taiwan, which consists of 9,085 pipes and was manufactured by Germany firm Johannes Klais Orgelbau.
Hell is also scheduled to perform with the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra conducted by Weiwuying’s General and Artistic Director Chien Wen-pin (簡文彬) on Oct. 8, and give another solo performance on Oct. 9, the arts center said.
In the statement, Chien said the events may not be on the same scale as when the center officially opened with fireworks on Oct. 13, 2018, but the venue has already established itself as an integral part of the local community through the participation of the public.
Like the banyan trees in the former military base that inspired the building designed by architect Francine Houben, Weiwuying has grown its roots and become a public cultural space, as well as part of everyday life for many, he said.
For the arts center’s fourth birthday, “everyone is invited to come and experience Weiwuying’s unique atmosphere,” Chien said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel