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(12 September 2013 - Hong Kong) Ocean Park today hosted the Ocean Park Halloween Fest BOCHK Charity Day for the Chest and unveiled all the new seasonal attractions of its revolutionary all day and night Halloween celebration, including Pumpkin Creation Lab presented by Jetstar, where a team led by award-winning US sculptor Ray Villafane will demonstrate pumpkin carving and offer instruction workshops to guests during Halloween Fest. Today also saw the premiere of Halloween Fest’s television commercial, starring local Halloween icon Ms. Law Lan. The event, which raised HK$1.3 million for The Community Chest of Hong Kong, is the first time Ocean Park held its annual Halloween charity event during the day, showcasing the all-new, all day and night format of its Halloween celebration. Halloween Fest will be presented to the public on 17 event days and nights, from 1 to 31 October.
Among today’s guests of honour were: Dr. Allan Zeman, Chairman of Ocean Park; Mr. Ng Leung Sing, SBS, JP, Director of BOCHK Charitable Foundation; Dr. Dennis Sun, BBS, JP, Campaign Committee Co-Chairman of The Community Chest of Hong Kong; Mr. Tom Mehrmann, Chief Executive of Ocean Park; Mr. Matthias Li, Deputy Chief Executive of Ocean Park; international film star Donnie and his wife, Cecilia; and local celebrities Ms. Irene Wang, Ms. Jessica Jann and the Yen’s Action Team.
Dr. Zeman said, “Thanks to the support of BOCHK Charitable Foundation, we are delighted to again make available our ever-creative Halloween celebration to help raise funds for The Community Chest of Hong Kong. Our annual Halloween charity event is an important part of Ocean Park’s extensive community care platform, which continues to be one of the largest among comparable theme parks worldwide. During the 2012/13 fiscal year, over 550,000 Hong Kong residents enjoyed complimentary or generously discounted admission to Ocean Park, resulting in a benefit equivalent to HK$150 million to the community - a 5% increase over the previous year and a new record.”
Dr. Zeman added, “Ocean Park was instrumental in introducing the culture of Halloween celebration to Hong Kong. This year, we have bought to Hong Kong an award-winning sculptor, Ray Villafane and his team to share with our guests the joy of pumpkin carving, an essential part of Halloween culture in the West. With our iconic Halloween celebration extended to all day and night, more people, including the underprivileged, can celebrate Halloween by visiting Ocean Park to experience all the fun and scares we have prepared. Attendance during Halloween month is expected to exceed 800,000.”
Ocean Park has brought to Hong Kong a team of sculptors led by the award-winning Ray Villafane, who has been widely recognised for carving pumpkins into extremely realistic human faces. Villafane and his team will be creating well over 400 pumpkin sculptures over the course of Halloween Fest and presenting a rotating exhibition of about 70 sculptures at Pumpkin Creation Lab. Many of the sculptures will feature designs inspired by Ocean Park’s animal ambassadors, such as the snowy owl, penguin, goldfish and more. Villafane will also be offering Pumpkin Carvin’ Fun, a 15 to 30-minute instruction workshop where guests can learn how to carve a face out of a small pumpkin before taking their own sculpture home. Expecting strong interest among guests, Villafane has trained a group of local artists to help facilitate the workshop, which will be offered from 11am to 9 pm, starting on 1 October.
Dr. Dennis Sun, BBS, JP, Campaign Committee Co-Chairman of The Community Chest of Hong Kong, said, “Through the many breakthroughs of its highly popular Halloween celebrations, Ocean Park has continuously distinguished itself as a responsible corporate citizen. Thanks to Ocean Park Hong Kong and BOCHK Charitable Foundation for hosting this charity event for a second consecutive year, The Community Chest is able to share this festive atmosphere with over 1,000 under-privileged people from the local community.”
Mr. Ng Leung Sing, SBS, JP, Director of BOCHK Charitable Foundation, said, “BOCHK Charitable Foundation is pleased to work with Ocean Park Hong Kong for a second consecutive year on such a creative and fun initiative to benefit all segments of the community served by The Community Chest. In addition to donations, Bank of China (Hong Kong) also mobilised nearly 100 volunteers to pair up with the Chest’s beneficiaries to experience the different attractions, making the event even more meaningful.”
Also presented for the first time today was the Halloween Fest’s television commercial, featuring a giant pumpkin and local Halloween icon Ms. Law Lan (aka Helena Law) singing in a musical inspired by Les Misérable. The theme was chosen to highlight the “revolutionary” change of theformat of this year’s event, featuring attractions and activities open all day and night.
In addition to Pumpkin Creation Lab, other fun attractions and activities for the whole family include: M&M’S® Crash the Monster Party, a hide-and-seek adventure with five differently coloured M&M’S guys; and Fun-tastic Funhouse, a labyrinth of illusions and shape-shifting mirrors, with a galore of photo opportunities. Thrill-seekers can look forward to following Ms. Law Lan’s whispering instructions as they try to escape from Law Lan’s Possessed Possessions presented by Blue Girl; and deciphering clues inside hidden spaces within Murder Factory presented by Yahoo! while evading murderous fiends and sneaky traps.
In collaboration with MegaBox, Ocean Park will spread Halloween fun outside the Park by presenting a gist of Law Lan’s Possessed Possessions, M&M’S® Crash the Monster Party, Pumpkin Creation Lab and Fun-tastic Funhouse in an event called “MegaBox X Ocean Park Halloween Fest” at MegaBox from 5 to 31 October. The event offers parents and kids a taste of the attractions before their visit to Ocean Park. On Sundays during the event period, there will be workshops for kids and ghosts and ghouls from Ocean Park will be onsite to hand out candies and have photographs taken with the public. A ticketing booth will also be set up at MegaBox to offer Halloween Fest tickets at promotional prices.
Dr. Allan Zeman concluded, “As Ocean Park is celebrating Halloween all day and night for the first time, I encourage Hong Kong residents to take advantage of our 15% discount offer on regular admission tickets, valid on all 17 event days from 1 to 31 October, to visit Ocean Park with friends and family for a Halloween full of fun and scares.”
