Recalling a riverside community's heyday with Sanjiaotu riverside festival

A sleepy and little-known section of the Keelung River will come to life over the coming week, when the Sanjiaotu Riverside Arts Festival (三腳渡親水藝術節) once again gives visitors the chance to celebrate an important yet often forgotten slice of Taipei's history.

Jointly organized by the Taipei City Government's Cultural Bureau and the Council for Cultural Affairs, the festival was established in 2000 in celebration of the Sanjiaotu fishing community.

Until 30 years ago, the Hakka community lived and worked along the banks of the Keelung River between Chiantan in Taipei City and Luchou in Taipei County and had for over 50 years. The community died out shortly after the mid-1970s construction of the huge concrete dykes that protect Taipei's Shihlin district from flooding.

Long hidden from public gaze by the unsightly concrete structures, the area was designated a historical site five years ago. Since then has been the focus of minor riverside

redevelopment. The opening of a small park and paved walkways four years ago has regenerated some local interest in the area, but the history of Sanjiaotu community still remains one of the most overlooked in Taipei.

The festival hopes to regenerate interest in Sanjiaotu and its history, and from 1pm this coming Sunday through April 17, theatrical and musical performances by several Taipei-based troupes and groups will, for a short time at least, give those with a whim for history the chance to enjoy a long-forgotten section of the Keelung River.

This year's Sanjiaotu Riverside Festival begins at 3pm on Sunday with a joint performance by the Assignment Theater (差事劇團) and the Black Hand Nakahsi band (黑手那卡西).

Considered one of the most political of all of Taiwan's numerous fringe-theater groups, the Assignment Theater has built up a reputation among the local alternative theater scene over the years for its biting and often satirical performances that convey social messages.