Live music, circus entertainers, international cuisine, Timorese handicrafts and a bouncy castle are all lined up for the grand opening of the Sunset Fair on Saturday, September 11th. Guests at the launch – which is open to the public - will include several hundred Tour de Timor participants, members of the diplomatic community and government officials.
The inspiration for the Dili Sunset Fair was drawn from a recent visit to the highly successful Mindil Beach Sunset Markets in Darwin by the Minister of Tourism, Commerce and Industry, Mr Gil Alves, who was impressed with the range of local and international products on sale and the large numbers of visitors to the event, which has become one of Darwin’s leading tourism attractions and a major contributor to the economy of the Northern Territory.
“I thought to myself, ‘we could do something like this in Dili’. We have the products, we have the location, we have the talent and we are keen to expand the range of experiences that Timor-Leste can offer to tourists, as well as the market for our local handicrafts”, Alves said.
The Sunset Fair location at Kristu Rei has recently been renovated by the Timor-Leste Ministry of Tourism, Commerce and Industry.
“This is a fantastic use of this purpose-built tourism facility,” Quintas said, “There is a performance arena, plenty of parking and space for up to 50 stalls. It is right beside one of our country’s most beautiful white sand beaches, with spectacular views of the sunset and it is surrounded by a nature reserve. I am sure that the Sunset Fair will be a great addition to our night life in Dili and will be popular with both foreign and local tourists, especially families”.
The Mindil Beach Sunset Market Association Inc will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Directorate of Tourism, to share their expertise with their Timorese counterparts in launching and developing the Sunset Fair. MBSMA General Manager, Kylie McCourt said that the technical support being offered to the Sunset Fair organisers would extend to advice, training, cross-promotion and regular exchanges of traders and entertainers between the two events.
“I believe that Mindil Markets’ relationship with the Sunset Fair will be a two-way street,” McCourt said, “One of our aims is to promote the sharing of cultural community and we are looking forward to developing long-term ties with our friends in Dili, so that we can learn more about what Timor-Leste has to offer in terms of products and cultural experiences, to the benefit of both parties. We would love to see some Timorese traders and visitors over here at Mindil”.
A delegation from the MBSMA is travelling to Timor-Leste to participate in the September 11th inauguration of the Sunset Fair, which is expected to run every Wednesday evening throughout the dry season, from October 6th until December 15th 2010. The Mindil Market visitors will be selling some of their creative handicrafts at the fair, as well as performing fire-twirling, stilt-walking and face-painting for children.
Sunset Fair will be offering a wide range of local and international culinary specialities as well as traditional weavings, carvings and other typical local handicrafts and products. Timorese entertainers will include Boy Clemens, who recently recorded a song about the Sunset Fair beach, entitled “Areia Branca”, which he will be performing at the opening event. His album, “Forca de Amor” will also be on sale.
The Sunset Fair grand opening will be MC’d by Anito Matos and there will be performances by 5 de Oriente as well as Le Ziaval and Tramasta Timorese dancing troupes.
The Venture Hotel and Esset will be bringing their Bouncy Castle to the fair. (a large inflatable “building” designed for children to jump around and use as a trampoline).
The Sunset Fair will allocate a proportion of its stalls to international traders, as it aims to offer a multi-cultural experience to visitors and to extend the creativity of Timorese business in developing new products. The Mindil Beach Sunset Market Association will assist with the development of the Sunset Fair in creative product development, food hygiene, Association and Market Management and other areas touching on private sector strengthening.
The Sunset Fair will also offer a regular opportunity to Timorese entertainers to gain experience in performing in public and to promote their music. They will be allowed to sell their CDs at the event. “We encourage all performers who are seeking an audience to register their interest with us so that we can draw up a schedule of entertainers to last the whole Sunset Fair season,” said Quintas, “This is also a chance for youth and church groups to get valuable exposure and to raise funds for charity”.
Corporate sponsors for the event include Airnorth, Valsa Productions, and Boy Clemens.
Applicants must submit their requests to Mr Antonio Da Silva, tel: 7410185 or go directly to the National Directorate of Tourism, Rua Dom Aleixo Corte-Real, Fomento, Mandarin. Participants must commit to operating their stall every Wednesday evening from 5pm-10pm for the full market season (Oct.6th-Dec. 15th). The government will provide electricity, water and a basic stall structure to participants, but they must supply any other equipment they need, such as tables and extra lighting, themselves.
For further information:
Sunset Fair email:
Sunset Fair Facebook group:
Sunset Fair on Twitter: @SunsetFair
Sunset Fair Opening Night, September 11th, 2010
Participants:
Food and Beverage (National)
Café Timor-Leste
Timor-Top/G’day
Tramasta
Venture Hotel
Marisa Unipessoal
Le Ziaval
Ass. Empresarial Mulheres T.L.
Hafoti
Girasol Brait
Food and Beverage (International)
Dili Beach Hotel
One More Bar
Beach Cafe
Caz Bar
Toy's Thai
Non-food/Handicrafts:
Boy Clemens
Fundasaun Alola
Handycraft/Souvenir
Star’s Printing
Grupu Manuco-co
Kor Timor
Grupu Feto Hametin Unidade
Tiarlelo
Women’s Woven Art
Fundasaun Cultural Le Ziaval
Arte Moris
Mindil Beach Sunset Markets Association
Harmony Massage
VeeBees Fashion
Haburas Cultura
Ass. Empresarial Mulheres Timor-Leste
