Malta Fashion Week 2012

All the best of fashion design and modelling in one week of events

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Malta opened on the evening of Thursday the 3rd with a fashion photography exhibition at St. George’s Square in Valletta. Around 40 large prints were illuminated and laid out around the square as the public could walk around them throughout both the day and night. Several local and international artists had their works displayed for a whole week in this exhibition that would not have been possible without the support of Logografix. 

On Sunday 6th May, there was the Pronovias Bridal & Cocktail show that was held in the incredible Casino Maltese in Valletta, while on Monday then, it was time for Charles & Ron, who presented their Fall/Winter Collection for 2012/2013. The collection, called So Hot, So Cold brought about contrasting elements that together created a perfect balance. This launch was held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in collaboration with Viventy Jewels by 202 Jewellery. 

On Tuesday 8th May, there was an interesting exhibition held at the Mercedes-Benz Showroom in Lija, which displayed colourful theatrical and period costumes, held in collaboration with Teatru Manoel. Wednesday saw the Maiden show from Fleur Kelinza fashion, held at The Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa in Attard. 

Thursday it was the opportunity for new designers to launch their collections while on Friday Russian designers teamed up with Maltese designers to launch their collection. Of note was the new swimwear collection by the Maltese model Tiffany Pisani, who was crowned Britain’s Next Top Model in 2010.

The Malta Fashion Week reached its culmination with a grand finale on Saturday night as the Trussardi Jeans Malta Fashion Awards were held at the MFCC in Ta Qali. Shana Caruana and Robert Galea won the best Female and Male Models respectively. Valentina Rossi won the Female Photo Model award, Gino Bezzina won the Male Photo Model, while Tonio Lombardi managed to get the Best Fashion Photographer.  Muriel Thake won the award for Best New Designer while Justin Brincat won the top Make-up Artist award. Finally, two hairdressers, Steve Vella and Annalise Azzopardi were chosen to represent Malta at the Wella TrendVision awards in Spain this autumn.

Maltese girl won Sanremo Junior festival

Gaia Cauchi wins international singing competition

Gaia Cauchi, a nine-year old girl from Mgarr, has won first place at the Sanremo Junior International that was held this weekend in Italy. This international song and music competition was open for soloists singers and musicians from different genres - pop music, rock, jazz and folk – aged between 6 and 15 years. 

Gaia interpreted the song ‘One Night Only’ from the film Dream Girls which is originally sung by Jennifer Hudson, and her magical strong voice captured the heart of the audience. She had won the ticket to be able to participate in this prestigious event as she was chosen amongst other young artists on a television programme, “SHOWBIZ”, produced by ONE productions.

Gaia’s voice teacher Gillian Attard, Maestro Paul Abela and Norman Hamiltion accompanied her during this adventure that will definitely have a great impact on her musical career. This wasn’t Gaia’s first experience on foreign TV.  Last year she appeared on Rai Uno’s live show, ‘Ti Lascio Una Canzone’, presented by Antonella Clerici as she captured the audience, by an amazing interpretation of Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary”

We at malta.com would like to congratulate Gaia for her success and wish her all the best in her singing endeavours  to come!

 

Promoting racial equality in Malta

Fighting discrimination with a new EU funded project

"I’m not Racist, But..." is the name of a new project that was just launched in Malta in order to understand the situation of ethnic minorities in the country. The project takes its name from a commonly heard phrase by those who claim that they are not racists, but then their words and actions prove otherwise. 

This project is funded by EU Progress funds and will be implemented by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality together with other stakeholders working with refugees and migrants in Malta. 

In a conference that launched this project, NCPE explained that although there is a lot of evidence suggesting that ethnic minorities face great difficulties and struggles with regards to different issues, reporting of discrimination is very low. Therefore, “I’m Not Racist, But...” aims to empower minorities to get their voice heard, promote rights advocacy, report discrimination, raise awareness and promote cultural diversity. 

The main activities of I’m not racist, but... will include: training in empowerment and reporting discrimination, production and distribution of videos about racism, the holding of an anti-racism day, and carrying out research about the housing experiences of ethnic minorities. 

Gharb produce the biggest gbejna ever 

Massive cheese made during Seher il-Punent festival in Gharb

The small town of Gharb in Gozo managed to break their own record by making the largest gbejna ever – weighing a massive 104 kilos, 27 kilos heavier than the record established last year. The gbejna was produced during the sixth edition of Seħer il-Punent festival between the 27th and the the 29th of April, 2012.

It was a hard day’s work to create this giant gbejna. Adrian Formosa and his team woke up early in the morning to mix more than 400 litres of milk mixed with rennet (curding agent) at a temperature between 32.5 and 33° Celcius. This process continued until a hard curd formed. It was then broken into small pieces and put in stainless steel moulds (qwieleb). Salt was added and the cheese is now put in a well-ventilated room and left to ferment, being washed down often. It will be ready for consumption at the next Seħer il-Punent festival organised next year.

This gbejna was one of the many attractions this three-day festival organized by the local council brought about. Other activities included dancing, historic re-enactments, a tug-of-war, fireworks as well as a great concert with well known local personalities including the New Cuori group, Debbie Scerri and tenor Aldo Busuttil. 

Lija fireworks factory wins international festival

St. Micheal's fireworks display impresses the audience and judges

Lija’s fireworks factory - St. Michael’s won the eleventh edition of the Malta International Fireworks Festival held over the Grand Harbour between the 29th of April and 1st of May, 2012. Lija were only Maltese representatives in this festival, which featured a number of fireworks displays from factories in Canada, the UK, Poland, Austria and Croatia. There were five judges adjudicating this festival coming from Japan, Portugal, Italy, Canada and Malta, chaired by the local Michael Brockdorff. 

St Michael's Fireworks Factory, managed to capture the judges’ attention with their engaging pyrotechnic display, getting a whopping 435 points out of 500. They also won the public opinion trophy. On the other hand, Mirnovez of Croatia placed second with 391 points and Jost Fireworks of Austria placed third with 377 points.

The Malta International Fireworks Festival was closed by two spectacular pyro-musical displays by Italian company Parente, bringing to an end a series of consecutive days of fireworks all over the islands. In a brief ceremony after the festival, Mr Josef Formosa Gauci, CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority thanked all those who worke hard to make the International Symposium on Fireworks and the Malta International Fireworks Festival a great success. 

Lija fireworks factory wins international festival

St. Micheal's fireworks display impresses the audience and judges

Lija’s fireworks factory - St. Michael’s won the eleventh edition of the Malta International Fireworks Festival held over the Grand Harbour between the 29th of April and 1st of May, 2012. Lija were only Maltese representatives in this festival, which featured a number of fireworks displays from factories in Canada, the UK, Poland, Austria and Croatia. There were five judges adjudicating this festival coming from Japan, Portugal, Italy, Canada and Malta, chaired by the local Michael Brockdorff. 

St Michael's Fireworks Factory, managed to capture the judges’ attention with their engaging pyrotechnic display, getting a whopping 435 points out of 500. They also won the public opinion trophy. On the other hand, Mirnovez of Croatia placed second with 391 points and Jost Fireworks of Austria placed third with 377 points.

The Malta International Fireworks Festival was closed by two spectacular pyro-musical displays by Italian company Parente, bringing to an end a series of consecutive days of fireworks all over the islands. In a brief ceremony after the festival, Mr Josef Formosa Gauci, CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority thanked all those who worke hard to make the International Symposium on Fireworks and the Malta International Fireworks Festival a great success. 

Gozo Lace Day in its 16th edition

Exhibition and demonstrations of traditional Gozo lace

Gozo Lace Day was organized for the 16th consecutive time this year. The Lace-Making Programme of the University Gozo Campus held this event on Sunday, the 22nd of April 2012. Several pieces of traditional Gozo lace were exhibited and there were also demonstrations explaining the lace making process.  There were a number of stands, one of which was of the International Organization of Needle and Bobbin Lace (OIDFA). One could also attend talks on issues related lace-making as well as visit exhibitions of contemporary lace master-pieces and textile crafts.

The event was attended by many lace makers and a number of distinguished guests that included: the Hon. Giovanna Debono - Minister for Gozo, Ms Consiglia Azzopardi - coordinator of the Lace Making Programme, and Dr Joseph Azzopardi who was the guest speaker for the occasion.

Minister Giovanna Debono explained that lace making is an intrinsic part of Gozo’s traditions and is a unique feature of the island’s touristic product; therefore lace has both an economic and a heritage value for Gozo. She also presented certificates to students who successfully finished courses of the Lace-Making programme. On the other hand, Ms. Consiglia Azzopardi delivered a talk regarding the pattern of Cape Collar while Dr. Joseph Azzopardi gave an interesting talk about reviving the Maltese Lace tradition. All those who attended were given a lace bobbin as a souvenir of the occasion.

A tunnel connecting Malta and Gozo

Making it easier to travel between the two islands

Connecting the Maltese Islands together has been a dream for many commuters who have to go through the hassle of travelling between Malta and Gozo on a daily basis. However, recent studies are showing that this might not be a dream for long; indeed, a tunnel under the Gozo Channel could be constructed in the next years. 

The results of a preliminary analysis about the tunnel have just been published, stating that such a project is technically and financially doable, as the construction would take five to seven years to complete with a cost totaling to around €492 million for a three-lane tunnel on the shortest route. 

This preliminary study was only the starting point, as although it concluded that the tunnel is feasible, it points out that further studies are required, especially those regarding the impact on the environment, construction methods and costs.

This project is expected to have great implications on the quality of life of Gozitans, as crossing the channel will become much easier. The proposed tunnel reduces average journey times by at least 40 minutes and thus Gozo will become more accessible to locals and tourists alike. This is likely to have a positive impact on the economy and in creating jobs in Gozo, which remains a continuous challenge. 

Gozo Half Marathon to be held this Sunday

Different distances for you to excel 

The Gozo Half Marathon will be in its 37th edition this Sunday, 29th April, 2012. Organized by the Gozo Amateur Athletic Association, in collaboration with the Malta Amateur Athletic Association, Xagħra local council and the Gozo Ministry, this event is much awaited by several athletes in the Maltese Islands and even abroad. 

The 21 kilometre half marathon starts from Xagħra at 09:30, proceeding through Marsalforn, Victoria, Sannat, Xewkija, Għajnsielem, Qala, Nadur, returning back to Xagħra for the finishing line.

There will be a shorter race (spanning 12.8 kilometres) also starting at 09:30 leaving from Xagħra and proceeding to Marsalforn, Victoria, Sannat, Xewkija and back to Xagħra.

A two-kilometre and four-kilometre races will be held for youngsters aged between 9-11 and 12-15 respectively, while there will also be a two-kilometre fun run open for everyone. These races will start at 08:45.

There will be transport available on the day from Mgarr Harbour to Xaghra and back after the race. Medals and trophies will be awarded to the successful athletes. If you want to participate you can register on www.gozomarathon.org until Friday or call +356 2156 3737 for more information.

 

Malta hosts Judy Cornwell from Keeping Up Appearances 

Judy to talk to students and help raise funds for Puttinu Cares

Judy Cornwell is currently on a visit to Malta in order to talk about the books she wrote and help fund raising for Puttinu Cares. Although she is mostly known for her role as “Daisy” in the famous British sit-com “Keeping Up Appearances”, she has had a long career on the big screen, stage and TV; a career that spans more than 50 years. This visit to Malta is not her first; in 1968, Judy came to Malta to film “Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?”, a musical about a man who narrates his exciting past to his children on the beach. 

Judy Cornwell was invited to Malta by St. Clare’s College girls’ secondary school in Pembroke, where she will address the students and their parents on Thursday 26th April, 2012 at 09:30. This session is open to the general public and anyone wishing to attend can do so with a small donation to Puttinu Cares. Cornwell has donated items from Keeping Up Appearances and photos from her previous stay in Malta in order to be auctioned and help raise funds for Puttinu Cares.

Judy will also be visiting Gozo during her stay, where she will be signing books in Victoria on Wednesday evening at around 18:00. So if you’re a fan of Daisy, make sure to go and meet the star, while at the same time helping the collection of funds from Puttinu Cares.