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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ EVENTS

Sculptors, start your shovels

An annual sand sculpture festival will be held from June 14 until June 29 on a 3km beach along the northeastern coast, which many have described as the best location for sand sculpting in the country. Local and foreign sand sculptors will knead and mold their creations on the beach stretching from Yenliao (鹽寮) to Fulong (福隆) in Taipei County, the Northeast and Ilan Coast National Scenic Area Administration, which is organizing the activity, said yesterday. Local schools, social workers’ groups and art associations have all joined in the preparations for this year’s event, creating many fantastic sand artworks, including two sculptures — an underwater world and the adventures of a sailor — measuring 14m by 7m, the administration said. Information is available at www.necoast-nsa.gov.tw.



■ EVENTS

Bitan races in spotlight

The opening ceremony for the 16th Taipei County Congressional Cup Dragon Boat Races was held at scenic Bitan (Green Lake, 碧潭) in Sindian (新店) yesterday. The event featured traditional dragon eye-dotting and river blessing rituals to mark the opening of the competition, which will run through June 15. The competition this year will feature an unprecedented 73 teams, organizers said, adding that it would help raise Bitan’s profile and boost the local tourism industry. Aside from the dragon boat competition, a series of activities will be held in the lead-up to the Dragon Boat Festival, including outdoor concerts and Taiwanese opera performances, organizers said. The annual Taipei County Congressional Cup Races are held in parallel with the Dragon Boat Festival, which this year falls on June 8.



■ RELIEF

Aid to China tallied up

Donations and pledges, including those of Taiwanese businesspeople operating in China, for earthquake relief in Sichuan Province amounted to 7.8 billion yuan (US$112.36 million) as of Wednesday, the Chinese State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Friday. A spokesman for the office said Taiwanese had donated 33 million yuan in relief and reconstruction supplies, including tents, satellite phones, concrete, medical supplies, food and medicine through the Red Cross, the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation and other authorized channels. The spokesman assured donors that the funds and supplies would be distributed according to their wishes and to those in greatest need of assistance.



■ EXHIBITS

Pissarro at palace museum

The National Palace Museum will start its summer season by launching an exhibition focusing on works by renowned 19th century French impressionist Camille Pissarro. Museum Director-General Chou Kung-shin (周�? said the exhibition, called “Camille Pissarro: Family and Friends,” is showing 90 works by 24 19th century artists and will run through Aug. 17. The works are from the collection of the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology at Oxford University in the UK, home to the world’s most complete set of drawings and watercolors by Pissarro, Chou said. The exhibition focuses on Pissarro’s oil paintings, drawings, prints and letters, and includes works by three of his sons and a granddaughter. Works by painters of the Barbizon School and Pissarro’s fellows such as Jean-Francois Millet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet have also been selected for the exhibition to put Pissarro’s achievements and influence in a wider perspective.
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