Swire Properties’ White Christmas Street Fair 2021 Kicks Off

“Santa’s Whimsical Factory” offers four days of festive shopping, live entertainment and more while aiming to achieve zero-waste

The White Christmas Street Fair, Swire Properties’ annual large-scale year-end community celebration, kicked off today after a two-year hiatus. Featuring a Taikoo Sugar Refinery-inspired theme, this year’s edition will once again raise funds for Operation Santa Claus.

Running from now until 5 December, Tong Chong Street has been transformed into “Santa’s Whimsical Factory”, a fantastical and immersive experience inspired by the area’s rich history and little-known Taikoo Sugar Refinery stories. The programme was designed and is run by seven

Swire Properties Placemaking Academy (SPPA) students.

Highlights and attractions include Santa’s Ride, the Snowy Christmas Ball and the Flying Christmas Truck; a customisable Audio Christmas Card; 30 shopping booths; a series of handicraft workshops; live performances and entertainment; as well as takeaway themed food and drinks by EAST Hong Kong, enoteca and selected Tong Chong Street Market vendors.

“We’re very excited to bring the White Christmas Street Fair back to Taikoo Place after two years and offer the Quarry Bay and wider Hong Kong communities some festive cheer after such a challenging year,” said Tim Blackburn, Chief Executive of Swire Properties.

“The Street Fair has become a tradition in our neighbourhood in Taikoo Place.  While we celebrate the festive season with our whole community, we’re glad to be able to give our younger generation of future talent a hands-on experience in placemaking, so that they can contribute to the sustainability and vibrancy of our communities in years to come. We’re extremely proud of our student team for creating a fantastic Street Fair for us all to enjoy.”

Youth Empowerment

This year’s event is the first ever physical Street Fair that is fully designed and run by the SPPA participants. Seven local university students, shortlisted through an open competition, took part in a six-month apprenticeship to ideate and organise the Street Fair.

The seven-person strong team took part in months of mentoring and on-the-job training, and partnered with colleagues across Swire Properties, external parties and community stakeholders, to bring their ideas to life.

Working Towards A Zero-Waste Christmas Street Fair

In line with the Company’s goal of integrating sustainability into every facet of its business, ‘green’ is at the heart of the White Christmas Street Fair this year.

The team collaborated with designers, suppliers, vendors and the Company’s sustainable development department early on, to work towards creating a Zero-Waste Event.

The aim is to divert an average of 90% or more of waste from landfills, and most of the event’s installations and printed materials were produced using fully-recyclable D-Board and FSC certified wood to minimise wastage. What’s more, single-use plastic tableware such as straws and cutlery, have been banned.

After the Street Fair wraps up, production and printed materials will be collected for upcycling workshops via NGO and recycling partners, while a partner local pulp mill will collect, clean and recycle paper cups and containers.

For more updates, visit Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SwireXmasFair) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/whitexmasstreetfair)