Out and about

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.