[Seoul District News] Nowon-gu, Weekend Performances in the 4th and 5th Weeks of April at Bulamsan Healing Town with 100,000 Azaleas in Full Bloom - 14 Street Artist Teams of Various Genres for All Ages... Guro-gu to Establish Virtual Safety Experience Center at Guro Creative Culture and Arts Center
[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) will hold the 2022 first half 'Street Arts Festival' at Bulamsan Healing Town, where azaleas are in full bloom, starting from the 23rd.
Now in its third year, the Street Arts Festival was initiated to help residents easily access art in everyday spaces and gain diverse cultural experiences. Despite being scaled down and dispersed due to the COVID-19 situation, last year alone, over 20,000 people attended over 24 days, receiving enthusiastic responses from residents.
This year's festival will be held on the weekends of the fourth week of April (23rd and 24th) and the fifth week (30th and May 1st) from 1 PM to 4 PM at Bulamsan Healing Town, where 100,000 azalea bushes are in full bloom. Two performance venues have been set up within Healing Town: Healing Garden and Healing Shelter.
A total of 14 teams will participate in the performances. From large puppets over 3 meters tall to circus acts, dance dramas, and rare aerial performances, various genres of street art will delight the eyes and ears of residents.
On the first day of the festival, the 23rd, audiences can enjoy the puppet play 'Mangtae Grandpa is Coming' by Theater Company Munui, 'Circus Olympics' by Circus The Lab, the 'Black Clown' clown show by Mime Company Kim Chansu, and the aerial performance 'Dandi Uhwa' by Creative Center Dandi in sequence.
On the 24th, the schedule includes the dance performance 'Cradle' by Theater Company iMoment, the puppet show 'Performance with Strings' by Iljangildan Company, the 'Family Outing' parade by Theater Company Bom, and the 'Gyeongsangdo Soap Bubble' show by Team Clown.
On the 30th, the day starts with Marine Boy's one-man clown play 'Solo Circus,' followed by the comedy circus 'Style' by 231 Show, the parade performance 'Harmony in Honey' by Theater Company Namu, and the concert 'Traveling Band Selling Luck' by Band Gwangchil.
The final day of the festival, May 1st, features the clown play 'Novice Carpenter and Wooden Puppet' by Creative Theater Company Pink Socks, the drawing show by Croquiki Brothers, the soap bubble show by Team Clown, and concludes with the aerial performance by Creative Center Dandi.
Visitors to Bulamsan Healing Town can freely watch the performances without any reservation. Detailed performance information and schedules can be found on the Nowon Cultural Foundation website.
The district plans to establish the Street Arts Festival as a representative outdoor cultural event and will hold traveling street arts festivals in neighborhood parks in the second half of the year.
At Bulamsan Healing Town, where the festival is held, a special spring program runs until May 8th. Activities such as insect soap making, ice cup recycled flower pot making, health checks and aroma self-massage, and azalea fan making are available for all ages to enjoy together.
Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, "With the social distancing measures that lasted over two years lifted, expectations for this cultural event are even higher," and added, "We hope everyone enjoys the performances and the spring atmosphere at the foot of Bulamsan where azaleas are in full bloom."
A Virtual Safety Experience Center (tentative name) will be established at the Guro Creative Culture and Arts Center.
Guro-gu (District Mayor Lee Sung) announced on the 19th, "We are building a Virtual Safety Experience Center to help people develop disaster response skills through various experiences," adding, "It will be located on the first floor of the Guro Creative Culture and Arts Center currently under construction in Gocheok-dong."
The 'Guro Creative Culture and Arts Center' is being constructed at 63-16 Gocheok-dong, with a total floor area of 3,496㎡ and a scale of basement 1 to 4 floors above ground. The center, designed to support youth creativity and academic achievement, will house the Virtual Safety Experience Center, Learning Career Experience Center, Creative Convergence Education Center, and Culture and Arts Center.
Among these, the Virtual Safety Experience Center will be created on the first floor with an area of 276.61㎡. The center will include rooms for fire escape and suppression experience, earthquake escape experience, evacuation facility experience, flood and wind disaster experience, and CPR and first aid training.
In particular, Guro-gu plans to enhance realism and maximize the experience effect by creating models reflecting the local terrain characteristics in some of the experience rooms.
To establish a cooperative system for the construction and operation of the Virtual Safety Experience Center, Guro-gu held a business agreement ceremony with the Guro Fire Station on the 19th at the district office Renaissance Hall. The event included project progress reports and agreement exchanges, attended by District Mayor Lee Sung and Guro Fire Station Chief Kim Yong-geun, among others.
According to the agreement, Guro-gu will promote the construction, publicity, and expansion of educational opportunities for the Virtual Safety Experience Center, while Guro Fire Station will manage the center's operation and develop various experiential education programs.
A Guro-gu official said, "Once the Virtual Safety Experience Center is established, residents will be able to develop the ability to protect themselves during disasters and safety accidents," and added, "We will continue to do our best to make Guro-gu a safe district."
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