HKWP Dragonfly Festival
(13 June – 30 September 2009)

1. Dragonflies and damselflies are among the most beautiful and spectacular insects in the world. Their life is closely intertwined with wetlands. Summer is the best season to look for dragonflies, and Hong Kong Wetland Park (HKWP) of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department will organise the "Dragonfly Festival" from 13 June to 30 September 2009 to arouse public awareness on the importance of conserving wetlands for dragonflies.

2. The Dragonfly Festival is in line with the HKWP’s "Communication, Education, Participation and Awareness (CEPA)" Programme, to promote wise-use of wetland environment.

"Dragonfly Festival" Education and Publicity Activities

3. The "Dragonfly Festival" provides the public a variety of activities, these include:

• "The Charming Dragonfly" Thematic Exhibition
• Dragonflies and Wetlands – Papercutting Arts on Chinese Folk Culture
• Exhibition of Winning Proposals for "Dragonfly Watching Route design Competition"
• "My Dragonfly Snap Shot" Photo Competition
• Public Lecture "Look for Winged Jewels in Hong Kong"
• Dragonfly Drama "Common Flangetail, the Master"
• Guided Tours on Dragonflies
• DIY Workshops

4. The following are brief information of the "Dragonfly Festival" activities (for detail information, please refer to the thematic website at www.wetlandpark.com/df2009) :

4.1 "The Charming Dragonfly" Thematic Exhibition During the Dragonfly Festival (13 June to 30 September), HKWP will set up a thematic exhibition at the Atrium.

The exhibition introduces a variety of information, this includes live exhibits of dragonflies and their larvae, informative panels, and multi-media film shows. It aims to provide visitors with in-depth information on life history of dragonflies, its characteristics, habitats, as well as importance of dragonfly and wetland conservation.



4.2 Roadshows: Dragonflies and Wetlands - Papercutting Arts on Chinese Folk Culture

The HKWP and the Chinese Arts Papercutting Association are co-organising roadshows on papercutting arts, which displays dragonfly-themed masterpieces designed and produced by Ms. Lu Xue, a world renowned Chinese Paper-cutting artist. The exhibition aims to promote conservation of dragonfly and their habitats. It will be held at the following venues:

13 June to 6 August - HKWP
7 - 13 August - Arcade, Kowloon Park
14 – 17 August - MTR Tung Chung Station
13 – 23 August - Park Court, Pacific Place

Some of the papercutting works are selected to produce a short animation "Love Story or Dragonflies in Wetlands" showing life of dragonflies, it will be broadcasted during Dragonfly Festival at the HKWP.

4.3 Exhibition of Winning Proposals for "Dragonfly Watching Route Design Competition"

From 7 August to 30 September, HKWP will display winning proposals for the "Dragonfly Watching Route Design Competition" at the Viewing Gallery of the Visitor Centre. The exhibition aims to promote among students and public, to carry out their eco-tours to wetlands using dragonfly watching as a key element.

4.4 "Look for Dragonfly" - Eco - exploration

From 13 June to 31 August, visitors can take part at the eco-exploration game, by obtaining a "Look for Dragonfly" booklet at the "Dragonfly Festival" Counter and find their way through the HKWP to explore around every twist and turn. On completion of the required tasks, visitors can present the booklet to the counter, and then redeem a dragonfly tattoo sticker as souvenir.


4.5 "My Dragonfly Snapshot" Photo Competition

From 13 June to 31 August, visitors can participate in "My Dragonfly Snapshot" Photo Competition. It is for the very best photography opportunities featuring different dragonflies' movement at the Park. They can select and submit 1 digital photo to the "Dragonfly Festival" Counter to redeem a souvenir. Ten "Photos of the Week" will be selected and posted at the "Dragonfly Festival" website every week. The selected photos may be used for production of a "photo album", which will be distributed to authors of the photographs, local school libraries and public libraries, and concerned organisations of the community. The Photo Album will serve as a useful education and reference material.

At the end of the "My Dragonfly Snapshot", ten outstanding photos will be selected among the weekly shortlisted photos. Authors of the outstanding photos will be awarded a special prize. They will later be informed of the details for collecting the prize.

4.6 Public Lecture: "Look for Winged Jewels in Hong Kong"

The HKWP will organise a public lecture titled "Looking for Winged Jewels in Hong Kong" at the Theatre on 27 June 2009 (11:30 – 12:30). Dr. TAM Tze-wai, Country Parks Ranger Services Officer of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, will share with the public his experience in exploring these extraordinary insects over the winding streams that pass through dense woodlands of country parks and in open marshlands in the New Territories.

4.7 Dragonfly Drama: "Common Flangetail, the Master"

In this summer, HKWP will present an incredible dragonfly drama 'Common Flangetail, the Master'. The story is about a Common Flangetail, Yechun, who wished to learn about the meaning of life as a dragonfly. By travelling to different places, he revealed different life stories of other dragonflies and damselflies. The drama encourages visitors to learn more about dragonfly and wetland conservation, through enlivening visitors with enjoyable and interactive stories.

Date: June: 27
July: 4, 12, 18 and 25
August: 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29
Time: 14:30—15:30, 16:00—17:00
Venue: Theatre

4.8 Guided Tours on Dragonflies

The guided activities will lead visitors into an incredible world of dragonflies in the HKWP. The activities are available for walk-in visitors, while places are limited and on a first-come, first-served basis.

Meeting the Odonates
Dates: 15 June to 30 September
Chinese tour: Wed and Fri
English tour: Mon and Thur
Time: 11:00 (duration around 1.5 hour)

Know More on Dragonfly
Dates: 14 June to 30 Sept 2009
(Sundays and Public Holidays)
Time: 10:30, 14:30 (duration 1.5 hours)

4.9 Workshops
HKWP will organise interactive workshops to encourage visitors to appreciate the beauty of dragonflies, to observe their daily life, and along with creativity and imagination to create badges, origami and paper-cutting arts.

Dragonflies Badges DIY Workshop Dates: 13 June to 27 September 2009 (Weekends and Public Holidays) Time: 10:30 - 12:30, 14:30 - 16:30 Venue: Viewing Gallery, Visitor Centre

Volunteer’s Origami Workshop: Variegated Flutterer
Dates: 13 June to 27 September 2009
(Weekends and Public Holidays) Time: 10:30 - 12:30, 14:30 - 16:30
Venue: Life Lab, Wetland Discovery Centre

Dragonfly Origami DIY Workshop
Dates: 20 June, 18 July and 15 August 2009
Time: 14:00 - 14:45, 15:00 - 15:45
Venue: Life Lab, Wetland Discovery Centre

Paper-cutting Workshop
Date : June: 13, 14 and 28;
July : 12 and 26
August: 9 and 23
Time: 11:45 - 13:15, 14:00 - 15:30
Venue: Souvenir Shop, Visitor Centre

Appendix 1
During the Dragonfly Festival (13 June to 30 September), Hong Kong Wetland Park will organise a series of activities, such as thematic exhibition, Dragonfly Watching Route Design Competition, guided tours and workshop, etc., for public to broaden their knowledge of dragonflies. These activities also aimed to promote dragonflies watching and encourage the public to engage in the conservation works of wetlands and dragonflies. The following is a summary of activities of the Dragonfly Festival:

Activities	Period
"The Charming Dragonfly" Thematic Exhibition	13 June to 30 September 2009
Roadshows: Dragonflies and Wetlands - Papercutting Arts on Chinese Folk Culture	13 June to 23 August 2009
Exhibition of Winning Proposals for "Dragonfly Watching Route Design Competition"	7 August to 30 September 2009 (Hong Kong Wetland Park)
"Look for Dragonfly" - Eco - exploration	13 June to 31 August 2009
"My Dragonfly Snapshot" Photo Competition	13 June to 31 August 2009
Public Lecture: "Look for Winged Jewels in Hong Kong"	27 June 2009
Dragonfly Drama: "Common Flangetail, the Master"	27 June; 4, 12, 18 and 25 July; 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 August 2009
Guided Tours on Dragonflies	14 June to 30 September 2009
- Meeting the Odonates	On Mondays, Wednesdays to Fridays
- Know More on Dragonflies	On Sundays and Public Holidays
Workshops
- Dragonflies Badge DIY Workshop	13 June to 27 September 2009 (Every Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays)
- Volunteer's Origami Workshop: Variegated Flutterer	13 June to 27 September 2009 (Every Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays)
- Dragonfly Origami DIY Workshop	20 June, 18 July and 15 August 2009
- Paper-cutting Workshop	13, 14 and 28 June; 12 and 26 July; 9 and 23 August 2009