Monthly Archives: March 2009
Treasures of the Last Russian Emperor
Over 400 priceless Russian artifacts are on display at the legendary Queen Mary ocean liner. It’s a rare opportunity to view some of Romanov Dynasty’s greatest cultural treasures, valued in the tens of millions of dollars. These include precious jewellery, silver statues, costumes, figurines, priceless weapons, garments woven of pure gold and encrusted with jewels, religious relics, historic photographs and ceramics. Take the expanded Shipwalk Tour and see restored areas that have been under wraps since the ship’s final voyage in 1967. You can also spend the night in the original First Class Stateroom or board the Russian submarine, Scorpion.
Koninklijk Concertgebouw Orkest
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra will be performing a second outdoor concert this year as the official openers of Sail2000. The concert will be conducted by chief conductor Riccardo Chailly, who has led the orchestra since 1988, and will feature ‘Symphony No 5′ by Tchaikovsky and the ‘ Piet Hein Rhapsody’ by Van Anrooy. The non-musical climax will come when the evening ends with a spectacular fireworks show. The entrance is free.
Crime Scene
It’s an interesting concept, this. A whole bunch of crime scene photographs from the 1950s pulled together to form an exhibition of a very distinctive artistic nature. The police photographers who arrived at the scene had to capture the mood, freeze the clues and imagine the best way to frame the scene for future investigative work. Their efforts, dislocated now from the detective’s notes and court reports, convey the turmoil that confronted them when they entered an ordinary place that hadbeen the scene of extraordinary, horrible deeds.
Animated Film Festival
Fart jokes and phallic innuendo might be a strange way to celebrate the 19th birthday of an animated film festival but, if you decide to open it with ‘South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut’, that’s what you get. Despite that, the festival will prove that there’s far more to animation than Homer Simpson’s furrowed brow, providing an ideal forum for wannabe cartoonists to learn the tricks of the trade, with numerous workshops and guests speakers including ‘Star Wars’ animation director Rob Coleman. A competition for Belgian shorts (films, not trousers) will also be launched.
