The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) is one of Asia’s most eagerly-anticipated showcases for filmmakers, film professionals and filmgoers from all over the world. It is an opportunity to experience outstanding films, attend glittering galas and meet the filmmakers. During this year’s festival - the 34th - over 240 titles from nearly 50 countries will be screened in 11 major cultural venues across the territory. The Festival is Hong Kong’s largest cultural event, reaching an audience of nearly 600,000, including several thousand business executives who attend Hong Kong Film and Television Market (FILMART), a concurrent event of the HKIFF. Full details at www.hkiff.org.hk.
Both HKIFF and FILMART are events that take place under the umbrella of Hong Kong’s Entertainment Expo, Asia’s multi-media extravaganza, now in its sixth year. The Expo consists of nine spectacular events covering a global mix of film, TV, music and digital entertainment. In addition to the two above-mentioned film events, the Expo will include the Hong Kong Film Awards, the Asian Film Awards, the HK-Asia Film Financing Forum, the HK Music Fair, the HK Top Sales Music Award, the HK Independent Short Film Video Awards and the Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum, events that will place the Hong Kong entertainment industry in the international limelight. (www.eexpohk.com)

It will be the turn of sports fans to flock to Hong Kong on 26 March, the date the Hong Kong Sevens 2010 rugby competition is due to kick off. The idea for this, the world’s premier Rugby Sevens Tournament, was in fact born in Hong Kong in 1975 and, through the ensuing years, it has become a major event with the world’s top teams participating. Canadian men’s and women’s teams are included in the 2010 roster and their participation is sure to create extra excitement for Canadian visitors during the tournament. All details and tickets at www.hksevens.com.

While entertainment and sports rule in March and April, May is the month for many of Hong Kong’s popular traditional festivals. The first - due to take place on 6 May - is the Tin Hau Festival, a celebration to honour Tin Hau, the ‘Goddess of the Sea’ and patron saint of fisherfolk. It is believed that, in honouring Tin Hau’s birthday, the coming year will be blessed with safe voyages, fine weather and full nets. The events are, of course, of great importance to all those who owe their livelihood to the sea. Celebrations will be held at Tin Hau temples all over Hong Kong, but it is in Joss House Bay, in Sai Kung, and Yuen Long, in the New Territories, that the most colourful festivities take place with colourfully decorated boats and parades featuring beautiful floral paper offerings and lion dances.

Next on the calendar - due to commence on 21 May for a week - is one of Hong Kong’s most unique festivals. It all happens on the tiny island of Cheung Chau, once the South China Sea home of many notorious pirates. In modern times, the reason and traditions behind this unique festival have long been forgotten, but that does not detract from its enduring popularity. A week of celebrations culminates in a carnival-like street procession featuring lion dances and costumed children who float on stilts above the crowd. The parade winds its way through the busy, narrow streets of Cheung Chau to the Pak Tai Temple, before which stand enormous bamboo towers studded with sweet white buns. At the stroke of midnight, as the crowd roars encouragement, athletes struggle to climb to the top of the towers for the luckiest buns and to claim victory in the contest.

The Birthday of Lord Buddha on 21 May is a quieter, more serious event, but no less interesting for that. During this special day worshippers show their devotion to Buddha by bathing his statues at major monasteries around Hong Kong. But it is the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island that draws the biggest crowds for this is the site of the world’s largest, seated, outdoor bronze Buddha in the world. Visitors are invited to observe and to participate in the bathing ceremony, which is followed by a meal of sumptuous vegetarian dishes at the nearby monastery.

The birthday of another patron saint of seafarers - Tam Kung - will also be celebrated on 21 May. Similar to the Tin Hau festivities, seafarers and many observers come together to rejoice and to ensure good luck and safety in the coming year for is believed that Tam Kung has the power to calm the ocean. The festival is marked with considerable devotion and fanfare, especially at the Tam Kung Temple in Shau Kei Wan on Hong Kong Island, an historic temple that dates from 1905.

Films and music, sports and traditional festivals, mean that Spring is an exciting season to be in Hong Kong. It is a time that caters to many tastes and interests … with enjoyment and excitement guaranteed, along with many happy memories. Information on all the traditional festivals can be found at www.DiscoverHongKong.com/canada

NOTE FROM EDITOR: See Peggy’s Cove and other Nova Scotia and Newfoundland videos in the travel section of this website!

Although you’ll fly into Halifax to join this tour, it is well worthwhile to schedule your arrival to provide enough time to visit nearby Peggy’s Cove via a convenient Gray Line bus tour. Or perhaps you are more interested in spending a littl e time at Lunenburg, settled by Germans in 1753 and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The nine-day escorted “Newfoundland Explorer Tour” is offered by The Great Canadian Travel Company, one of Canada’s most respected travel companies. With more than 25 years’ experience, the company has earned a solid reputation as the travel specialist to many of Atlantic Canada’s most unique destinations.

After an enjoyable side trip to Peggy’s Cove and/or Lunenburg and a night’s rest and relaxation at a lovely downtown hotel, you’ll transfer to Halifax International Airport for your flight to Newfoundland. Arriving at Deer Lake, you’ll travel to Cow Head for a two-night stay.

You’ll quickly discover why Gros Morne National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is a genuine highlight of your tour, with visits to the Broom Point fishing exhibit and Lobster Cove Lighthouse. You’ll enjoy a scenic boat tour (weather permitting) as you l earn the geology of the Tablelands, see bald eagles that frequent the deep waters of the fjord and learn the history of small villages nestled on the shore.

Next stop is Mary March Regional Museum in Grand Falls-Windsor en route to Gander, where you will spend two nights. During your stay, a scenic drive along the rocky coast of Notre Dame Bay leads to the beautiful outport of Twillingate. At the tip of the island visit Long Point Lighthouse and the local co-op. Return to Gander to visit the North Atlantic Aviation Museum before returning to your hotel.

Head out on the Trans-Canada Highway to visit Terra Nova National Park, the most easterly of Canada’s beautiful national parks. Awaiting at the Cape Bonavista Lighthouse Provincial Historic site is an afternoon stroll along the lanes of the charming town of Trinity, where you’ll see several historic buildings including a typical early 20th century rural merchant’s house and a counting house.

Afte r an overnight stay at the Clarenville hotel, day seven of the tour is an active and busy day. In Brigus, visit Hawthorne Cottage National Historic Site and learn about the adventures of world famous explorer Captain Bob Bartlett. Then, continuing on to Bay Bulls, you’ll find more candidates for your “highlight reel,” including a boat tour to the Witless Bay bird sanctuary (weather permitting), and a visit to the most easterly point in North America, Cape Spear National Historic Site.

St. John’s, the provincial capital, is an intriguing old seaport and the closing day of your tour begins with a look at the Victorian architecture of the downtown area. Visit the city’s busy modern waterfront as well as the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and Government House, the latter dating from 1829 (about the same time as the White House was built). You’ll enjoy a panoramic view from Signal Hill where in 1901 Marconi received the first transatlantic radio signal. At Signal Hill, you’ll witness the pageantry of red-coated soldiers of the Royal Newfoundland Companies marching to fife and drums and firing muskets and cannons.

There are multiple departure dates in 2010 from mid-June to early September. Cost of this nine-day/eight-night program is $2439 Canadian (approximately US$2350) per person (based on double occupancy). The single supplement is $560 Canadian (app. US$540). Included are: visits to Gros Morne National Park, Lobster Cove Lighthouse, scenic boat tour in Gros Morne, Mary March Regional Museum, North Atlantic Aviation Museum, Twillingate, Long Point Lighthouse, Terra Nova National Park, Bonavista and Trinity, guided tour of St. John’s, Signal Hill National Historic Site, Cape Spear National Historic Site, sea-bird-watching boat tour and “Screech In” ceremony. Accommodations and meals are included as indicated in the itinerary, as is transfer by air from Halifax to Deer Lake.

Reservati ons and additional information available from The Great Canadian Travel Company, 800-661-3830, www.greatcanadiantravel.com. The URL for the Newfoundland Explorer program is http://www.greatcanadiantravel.com/tours/canada-usa/eastern-canada/escorted-tours/newfoundland-explorer-tour

Developed in harmony with nature on an 85-acre tropical wilderness preserve and one of Vallarta’s most beautiful beaches-home to the resort’s namesake white herons-Garza Blanca offers guests six categories of guest rooms and suites including the resort’s highlight, 2,769-square-foot penthouses, all with expansive terraces that blur the lines between indoor living and out. The architectural design is sleek and modern, emphasizing horizontal and vertical lines to form enormous windows that serve to frame Mexico’s vivid natural displays.

At Garza Blanca, it’s all about the details: travertine floors, marble showers and granite countertops. Contemporary décor includes upscale furnishings in a graceful palette of earth tones. Whirlpool baths transform master bathrooms into spas. And state-of-the-art entertainment systems and high-speed Internet access keeps guests connected…if that’s what they wish.

Five-star service is a hallmark of Garza Blanca. A private check-in area welcomes newcomers. Concierge services help them plan exciting adventures, whether urban or natural. Guests can request a private chef for an intimate dinner in their suite. Happy hours with attentive waiters await them on the beach and by the pool. In-suite spa services offer customized massages, rejuvenating therapies and skin treatments to nurture body and soul.

The heart of Garza Blanca, though, is the Atrium building and its breathtaking view of the Bay of Banderas. Here guests can while away their time by the pool, or enjoy a premium cocktail at the bar and lounge area. This is also home to the exquisite Blanca Blue restaurant, where a select gourmet menu-accompanied by wine brought from one of the world’s best cellars-can be enjoyed indoors or outside on the waterfront, illuminated by torchlight. Private beachfront candlelight dinners can also be arranged.

Garza Blanca is perfectly located just ten minutes south of the center of Puerto Vallarta and its vibrant art scene, award-winning restaurants, championship golf, eco-tour opportunities and exciting culture and nightlife. Few destinations offer such a fantastic combination of natural beauty and man-made attractions, as well as a history that lives on in its colonial buildings and cobblestone streets.

The resort is currently offering a Grand Opening Special Rate that discounts 25% of off regular rack rates and includes a daily à la carte breakfast, valid through April 11, 2010. Rack rates range from $316 USD per night for a Deluxe Room to $1,278 USD for a Penthouse, for travel through April 11, 2010, exclusive of taxes and service charges.

To reserve your experience at the Garza Blanca Preserve, Resort & Spa, call + 52 (322) 176 0700 or visit www.garzablancaresort.com