Valletta comes alive!

For the second year running, the Valletta Alive Foundation has once again organised a weekly series of Friday evening entertainment in Valletta. Their aim, as the foundation's chairman Alfred Zahra told me, is primarily to promote city life in the streets of Valletta and fill them with people on balmy summer evenings. It has long been lamented that the bustling streets of our capital city become devoid of the vibrant life so often associated with other major centres once businesses and shops close for the day. Every day at around 7 p.m. a mass exodus of commuters leaves Valletta to go back to their homes, consequently leaving behind a deserted city which seems to fall into a soporific lull equatable to an enchanted sleep, or rather, given its pitiful outcome, a cursed sleep.

The "city built by gentlemen, for gentlemen" has long been in need of rehabilitation and over the last few years, its original sparkle has finally begun to shine through the grime and neglect of decades. The Valletta Alive Foundation is supported by several entities both from the public and the private sector - from the GRTU and the Malta Chamber of Commerce to the Malta Tourism Authority, the Valletta local council and the Valletta Rehabilitation Project as well as the Merchants Street and Republic Street Business Committees. Last summer the foundation began a trial project with the first series of Valletta Streets Alive evening entertainment for four weeks, in an attempt to promote the marvellous public spaces and venues which Valletta has to offer during a time when the city's pace is much quieter. The project proved to be a success and served as a starting point for a very fruitful season of promotional events for Valletta. The foundation was actively involved in the Notte Bianca and the Notte Magica which followed later and proved that their aim was being fulfilled.

This year they chose to consolidate and extend last year's success by prolonging it to a run of six consecutive Fridays and organising it to complement the Valletta Arts Festival, which is being held at the same time. In fact the Streets Alive events all begin before 9 p.m., which is when most of the Arts Festival performances start. This is to entice the public to go to Valletta earlier and enjoy the pleasant surroundings for longer.

Because most of the foundation's income comes from memberships, this year they sought and obtained the sponsorship of the Bank of Valletta as well as having the Allied Group of Publishers as corporate sponsors, and consequently, the project was appropriately renamed BOV Streets Alive. Due to the fact that the MTA is on the foundation's board of governors, Martin Morana was appointed events manager and brought a fresh approach with the idea of themed weeks which all involved aspects of music, culture, art and shopping.

There have been four very well-attended, themed Friday evenings so far - Valletta Kreattiva, Valletta Kulinarja, Valletta Storika and Valletta Eleganti; the latter took place yesterday. As their theme name suggests, each one of these events adapted Valletta to its criteria, using aspects of its architecture and character as the backdrop for its varied cultural programme which carried not only the standard guided tours, and exhibitions, but also military re-enactments and bands, treasure hunts, dance performances, ambiance setting, banquets, concerts and al fresco dining in the streets.

Next Friday's theme is Valletta Romantika which will focus around the area of the stairs and streets leading down to the Grand Harbour, namely those of St Lucia, St Ursula and St John. The romantic theme will be followed through with karozzin rides round the fortifications, troubadour style musicians strolling through the streets from one eatery to another and a concert by the Denner Clarinet Quartet, as well as a guided tour of the city entitled Courtesans in Valletta, where people will be greeted at City Gate with a surprise for the ladies. The steps in St Lucia Street will be illuminated by candlelight and embellished with floral decorations, all adding to the charm and romance of the historical streets which have seen many a moonlight tryst made and fulfilled over the centuries.

The series will be rounded off with Valletta b'Differenza on August 24, which promises an array of fun and games for the whole family, including a revival of the Paglio Maglio, the knights' version of croquet, which shall be played all along Republic Street. Go-kart racing in Freedom Square will vie with bastion abseiling by the Red Cross Society at City Gate, while a Fire Dance and Martial Arts demonstration in Great Siege Square will draw the attention of those who choose to stroll through the streets sampling what's on offer, unless of course, they choose to take a Valletta tour entitled Movie Town, which portrays the city's fine architecture as the ideal cinematic backdrop. The comedy Show Bla Kondixin will be put up by Ideas Alive at the Opera House Ruins and an evening of Neapolitan song will be the centre of attraction in Republic Square.

It is comforting to know that the Valletta Alive Foundation, which has, from its inception, attempted to regenerate Valletta's dingy, sleepy, post-7 p.m. image to that of a happening place where the public is more actively present after business hours, is still working very hard to achieve its goal, adding many more successes under its "belt", if you'll excuse the pun.

It is estimated that an average of 38,000 commuters enter the city each day for work and leaves between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Stemming this fluctuation in population by making Valletta a more "happening place" is not easy. It is also thanks to the Valletta Alive Foundation that the Park and Ride scheme is free and that we have a route bus connecting the Valletta Waterfront to the city.

Undeniably Valletta is a major shopping centre; however, it has an extra element that none of its competitors have - it is a museum city and wherever you look and go, it is steeped in history, beauty and elegance. This is why we should be jostling each other in its streets, not just because we can get the best bargain in the sales or because our company's head office is there, but because we need to re-learn to appreciate what our driven, competitive, one-track minded, consumerist selves have come to take for granted. Let us slow down to an amiable stroll and look up at the stately architecture of our charming, world-heritage status capital - only then can we make Valletta's streets become truly alive.