Feel the Green
Sunday June 5, FCC Phnom Penh
The effects of climate change are obvious and widespread. It's enough to make a sane person drink. And since June 5 is International Environment Day, The FCC Phnom Penh and the Group for the Environment, Renewable Energy and Solidarity, or GERES, plan to tip a few and raise awareness of the planet's unraveling heat problem. The "Feel the Green" party, as it has been named, will feature an environmental cartoon in the afternoon, and in the evening: music, environmental movies and a pop quiz, so people can determine their own level of environmental awareness. "The quiz and the movie will be the main awareness raising material, by making it lively and fun, we want people to really question themselves about the environmental challenges we are facing and how they can do something," said Elida Delbourg, Social Marketing and Communications Director for GERES. Starts at 8 p.m. No cover. See Feel the Green.
Salsa Explosion
Saturday June 11, FCC Phnom Penh
Spawned by the 1920s folkloric Son Cubano, which fuses Spanish guitar with African rhythm and translates literally as 'Sound of Cuba', Salsa dancing swept the globe within a decade. And, like the sauce from which it derives its name, it remains one of the spiciest today. "Salsa is quite an intimidating dance," says Jimmy Campbell, the Salsa Explosion host. "It's very sensual; very exciting. There's a lot of energy around it. It's not like modern dance, where people don't even look at each other and there's no passion." Dancing starts at 8:30 p.m. No cover. See Strictly Salsa.
Beers for Bears
Saturday June 18, FCC Phnom Penh
Six of the world's eight bear species — a staggering 75% — are now threatened with extinction. Enter Free The Bears, established as a not-for-profit charity in 1995 after Australian founder Mary Hutton saw televised footage of moon bears being farmed for their bile. Now a major force in conservation, Free The Bears employs everything from environmental education to robust law enforcement to pursue its goal of ending the trade. Its Cambodian Bear Sanctuary — 21 lush, forested enclosures in the grounds of Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre — is endeavouring to save not just Cambodia's animals, but also the Malayan sun bear, the world's smallest, measuring less than 150 centimetres (175 if it unfurls its rather disproportionate tongue). To help bolster the coffers, until recently reliant on international fundraising, the charity is staging a "Beer for Bears" evening at the FCC on June 18. For a nominal cover charge, the night promises live music, free-flowing beer and wine, a glut of prize giveaways such as discounted hotel stays and restaurant vouchers, and the chance to suck a chilled vodka shot off the snout of a towering ice bear. See Bend an Elbow for the Sun Bear.
Live: Warapo
Saturday June 25, FCC Phnom Penh
Warapo is the house band at the famous Caraville Hotel in Saigon. Founded in 1998 in Santa Clara, Cuba, the four-man, two-women Cuban fusion band play radio-friendly Latin rhythms steeped in the Cuban tradition. Warapo won the title "Best Amateur Band" in November 1998 at the 14th Artist College Festival in Holguín, and with their second album, "Tengo Nada," the band garnered four nominations at the 2008 Cuban Disco Awards, Cuba's most prestigious music awards. Show starts at 8:30 p.m. No cover.