Shanghai

Christmas workshops

After successfully hosting the first of its trilogy of Christmas workshops on Dec 4, the Community Center Shanghai and the grocery store Fields are holding two more events on the same theme. Parents and young children can learn how to decorate Christmas cookies, make festive decorations from dried fruit, and craft recycled materials into fun new decorations, among other activities. Registration is necessary as the classes are limited in size. Tickets cost 150 yuan.

4:30-6 pm, Dec 9. CCS Hongqiao Center, 201 Sheng Lun Lan Building, 5B, Lane 3215 Hongmei Road. 021-6406-4276.

Historical trek

Hope for clear skies as you trek around the former seat of the Shanghai government later this month with InterNations' free walking tour of the last remnants of the Kuomintang's reign. The main focus of the tour will be a part of town where the KMT planned to create a new city center away from Shanghai's foreign concessions in the early 1930s. The walk will encompass the Old Shanghai Museum, the old Shanghai government seat, library and East Shanghai Church. Those who attend can enjoy some outdoor exercise while also learning about the architects of the period and other trivia. The evening will wrap up with a traditional Shanghainese dinner near Laoximen Temple.

2-6:30 pm, Dec 15. Meet at Exit 4 of Xiangyin Lu Subway Station on line No 8.

Be a barista

Socialize with new friends as you learn the secrets of coffee-brewing and get to try it for yourself at Citta's Cafe this winter. At this get-together organized by InterNations (128 yuan per person), you can learn what separates a good from a bad coffee bean, how to taste coffee like an expert and other tricks of the trade from an expert barista. Afterward, you will get the chance to make your own brews and reflect upon what you have learned before sitting back and soaking up the ambience and caffeine with your burgeoning social circle.

2-4 pm, Dec 22, 2nd Floor of Citta's Cafe, Room 102C, 318 Fuzhou Road.

- Matt Hodges

Hong Kong

Festival fun

During the day, Freespace will host luncheon concerts, street music, live performances and youth programs. As the sun sets, it will transform into a hub of alternative music, spontaneous jamming, multimedia and cross-boundary shows and late-night gigs.

1-10:30 pm. Dec 14-15. West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade. 852-2200-0097. www.freespace.hk.

Community celebration

Very Hong Kong is the city's first independent, annual program with a mix of community-founded arts, culture, food, lifestyle, sports and design events held in various public spaces in the city. It will be a celebration of culture, heritage, cosmopolitan lifestyle and urban environments through the use of public and donated spaces for a variety of innovative events open to all. The idea is to raise the bar on the transformation of public spaces in Hong Kong, taking innovative expression and public participation to a whole new level.

Various times. Dec 7-15. Kowloon East hub, Central Waterfront hub and Wan Chai hub. 852-2528-8666. www.veryhk.com.

Santas are coming to town

Get into the spirit of the Christmas season by putting on your best Santa costume and joining other jolly revelers in the Santacon pub crawl. Rendezvous in Central before making your way through Tsim Sha Tsui, Wan Chai and Soho before ending in Lan Kwai Fong. Elves, reindeer and Mrs Clauses of all shapes and sizes welcome.

1 pm, Dec 14. Red Bar, 4/F, IFC Mall, 8 Finance St, Central. 852-8129-8882.

- Timo Chui

Guangzhou

Meet and greet

Make friends and seek business opportunities at the annual Inter-Chamber Christmas Dinner in Guangzhou on Dec 10. A traditional Christmas choir, Christmas buffet, lucky draw and hot mulled wine will give the party an authentic festival flavor. Tickets for members of the British, French and German chambers - the event's three hosts - cost 250 yuan per person, while the non-member ticket price is 350 yuan. Payments must be made by cash at the door, but you need to go to www.britchamgd.com to complete the registration in advance.

6:30 pm, Dec 10. Westin, 6 Linhe Middle Road, Tianhe district, Guangzhou. 020-8331-5013.

Beijing

Making LinkedIn work

The FC Club (Beijing) invites professionals seeking career development to gather on Dec 12 for a seminar on "How to optimize your LinkedIn profile without spending hours doing it" with a networking mixer before and after the progam. Guest speaker Bridget Rooth, founder and director of the online English editing firm English Trackers, went from writing search-friendly content for websites to writing optimized profiles on LinkedIn. She has trained hundreds of professionals from diplomats to entrepreneurs, from job-seeking young professionals to hardy China hands on how to get the most out of their LinkedIn profiles and networks.

7:30-10:30 pm, Dec 12. Champagne Bar, Fairmont Hotel. 010-8511-7777.

Bethel celebrates 10 years

Bethel China, a residential facility for disabled orphans in suburban Beijing, will celebrate its 10th anniversary with an open house for friends and supporters, featuring a concert, photo and art exhibition, games, crafts and more. Free admission, but RSVP requested at answer@bethelchina.org.

7-9 pm, Dec 14. Regent Beijing Hotel, 99 Jinbao Street, Dongcheng district. 010-8522-1888.

- Mike Peters

If you would like to suggest events for Out and About, please e-mail sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 12/08/2013 page5)