Quarry Bay Waterfront Community Open Space | A large-scale community festival, "Everyone's Community Festival," was held in Quarry Bay, offering a series of free arts and cultural activities that reflect the characteristics of the Eastern District.

Description

Quarryside Community Festival (‘the Festival’), organised by St. James’ Settlement, will be held from 18 to 19 October 2025 to celebrate the second anniversary of Quarryside, a harbourfront community space in Quarry Bay. The Festival, funded by Swire Group Charitable Trust (Swire Trust) and supported by Swire Properties, aims to showcase the spirit of co-creation and achievements among creative practitioners and community members during Quarryside’s placemaking journey. The public will be able to enjoy a series of complimentary arts and cultural activities inspired by the vibrant culture of Eastern District.

The Festival will feature the following signature programmes incubated at Quarryside over the last two years:

‘Tong Sui Kitchen with Mr Bean and Ms Sesame’: a creative placemaking project echoing the industrial past of Sugar Refinery in Quarry Bay, promoting intergenerational dialogues. The Project will reunite our senior Mr Bean and Ms Sesame to prepare homemade tong sui for community members, facilitating dialogues and connection across generations.

‘Across Boundaries and Generations: A Thread, Seafarer, and Mooring’ Performance Research and Community Dance Project: inspired by the history of Quarry Bay and the respective families’ maritime histories, artists Cheung Wai Yin and Tsz Wai Pun have delved into six months of research and exchange at the Swire Archives to develop a performance that reveals a maritime narrative. Assembled from fragmented images, oral histories, texts and bodily gestures, their performance will chart a sea of narratives related to maritime history, migration and marine ecology. Meanwhile, Unlock Dancing Plaza’s Creative Director Ong Yong Lock and community engagement artist Andy Lee, have drawn inspiration from the research to co-create a ‘Body on Stage’ dance piece with community members. 

The highlight of the Festival is the live music performance on 19 October, starting at 5:30pm. An exciting line-up of up-and-coming Hong Kong music talents is set to gather at Quarryside and showcase a variety of music genres to offer a creative unique music experience. The line-up includes Cath Wong – singer-songwriter; Arvin Tsang – up-and-coming singer; Ryan Cheung – independent singer-songwriter and guitarist; Lester Lam – independent singer-songwriter; Siu Yuen – singer-songwriter; Peace Lo – singer-songwriter; Hubert Mak – independent singer; Ronald Lau – keyboardist and New Gen Cantonese Musical Series.

The Festival also offers a variety of workshops highlighting co-creation, community exploration and multi-sensory offline creative experience. Some signature programs require online registration on a first-come, first-served basis. Over 15 free walk-in workshops including MusiCLAY Ceramic Instrument Exhibition and Experience Workshop curated by St. James’ Creation, Weave at the Moment – Weaving Experience Workshop designed by Jockey Club Artspiration Academy, and Block Printing Workshop - Impressions of Quarry Bay, along with performances and a mini-market will be available on-site, inviting community members to immerse themselves in a variety of diverse creative and cultural happenings during the weekend.

Launched in 2023, Quarryside is operated by St. James’ Settlement, with funding support from the Swire Group Charitable Trust (‘Swire Trust’). Swire Properties also provided consultancy support for the design and construction of the community space, as well as its operations. The project provides a vibrant community space that offers diverse programmes to strengthen community connections and promote creativity, wellness and sustainable living.