9 People You’ll Definitely Bump Into At Valletta’s Notte Bianca This Saturday
Notte Bianca is returning to Malta’s capital city this Saturday, with the streets of Valletta being transformed for one night only.
The city will be buzzing with art, music and all sorts of cultural activities that go on late into the night, and the best part is it’s all completely free. The festival producers are upping the ante this year, which means thousands will yet again head to Valletta over Saturday.
With so many people attending, here are the nine people you’re definitely going to be bumping into at Notte Bianca 2017
1. The razza and radika
The big portion of people will enter the festival from the usual entrances, coming across Inrata Karnivalata first. An entrance with Carnival and pumpy music by DJ Mykill with live brass by Liksu on trumpet and sax and John on percussion (with Frank Zammit and Svetlana Muscat leading the atmosphere), this is the place where you’ll be meeting most of the people you know.
From there, the razza and radika will walk down to Karaoke ta’ Vera (which they saw live on TVM before they arrived). Hosted by singer Tiziana Calleja, and featuring others like Claudia Faniello and Destiny, the general flow of people will stick here for a while.
After this, they’ll probably walk straight to Pjazza San Ġorġ and find Il-Kbira Għadu Ġej, by Kelma Kelma Nota Nota. The funniest part in town, Ray Calleja and Ron Briffa, will be taking care of this part of the night, with music by The Tailors, Charlie Busuttil, Anna Azzopardi, DJ Matt, and DJ Geez.
2. The person who says they won’t go (but will end up going anyway)
They had been saying Notte Bianca is “too much of a hassle”, with too much traffic and too many people.
When they found out how easy it is to get there (especially if you just go to the Park and Ride and are driven to Castille Square), they ended up going up.
They’ll visit Ċeramika Dinamika at 7pm (hosted by Alka Ceramics) and Mdina Glass’ Pjazza Ħġieġ right after at 7:45pm.
Walking to St. George’s Square, they’ll be able to enjoy the illustration exhibition in the façade’s windows, along with Science in the City in the palace’s courtyard.
3. The Perfs
They will go straight to their meeting place in Republic Street and get some perfect opportunities to up their selfie game street events like Min Hemm?
On their way to Pjazza San Ġorġ, they’ll bump into the cheeky clowns roaming the streets. They will then probably find Lampa Stampa in Pjazza San Ġorġ, taking selfies of themselves and checking out their reflection in the mesmerising LED lights.
4. The gin lovers
This is a perfect opportunity for the gin lovers to have a drink or two.
They will start by going to Strait Tango, listening to Tango by Il-Puse’ at 9pm. After that, they’ll go watch some stand-up comedy in the same street, with Malcolm Galea and Wayne Flask’s debut.
The gin lover will then follow their night up with Disco Boċċi at 11pm with 80s music by Spots & Stripes. At midnight they will head over to Fort St Elmo and find Notte BLANK expriencing great electronic vibes taking over Notte Bianca by storm with a celebratory night with a twist.
The night will featured a long list of different local and international artists, from the electronic wizard YEWS to Maltese hip hop outfit Kapitlu Tlettax.
5. The vinyl collector
That one person who has every vinyl of Leonard Cohen.
Starting off with Claire Tonna’s emotional tribute to the legendary late creative at 8:30 pm, they’ll move on to the sound installation Xandira, a live performance by Ġiżimina (of YEWS fame) inspired by Maltese għana and Sur Jazz, with music by Masestro Dominic Galea featuring UK Jazz Drummer of The Year, Clark Tracey and Nadine Axisa with a tribute to Sammy Bartolo at 11pm.
6. The father with the baby carrier
He pre-plans everything, including the easiest way to access Valletta with his kid during the night.
He will start his night off with Qatta Ġrieden, a play in front of the Law Courts at 7:30pm, Sim Sala Bim at 8:30pm, and Post it-tfal: Nibnu Storja, a puppet theatre for children at 9:30pm. If the little one is still up, he’ll finish it up with Ajru at 10:30pm.
7. The lost tourist
They were in Valletta right on time as soon as everything kicked off at 7pm because they didn’t want to miss anything. As soon as they heard the bells ringing, they realised it was the opening of Notte Bianca 2017.
They got to Valletta with the ferry from Sliema, checking out Għanejja performing Xatt il-Għana. Arriving to Valletta, they make a wrong turn and end up watching Zekzik at id-Diju Balli at 8pm. They end up staying to watch the cool performance Zekzik, which is a dance-theatre performance, by artists in collaboration with the local children from the area, eventually heading to Notte Bianca Villaġġ to get a souvenir by Maltese craftspeople.
8. The artsy fartsy
They thought Notte Bianca was too mainstream, until they saw the lineup and found something for them too.
First, at 7:30pm, they went to watch the dance theatre show Shutterspeed in the Chamber of Commerce, followed by a classic musical concert Gabi Idoqq Glass at 9pm. This fantastic aural experience will be happening at St. Mary Magdalene Chapel, which will be followed up by the Il-Anġli installations by The Rubberbodies Collective at 10pm.
The night for the artsy fartsies will end by an open rehearsal (and a Q&A session) by Żfin Malta at 11pm.
9. The nannu with the pocket square
He knows the tricks and trades of Valletta he will get to Valletta from the lower side of the city, starting with Baħar ta’ Poeżija. Listening to Maltese poetry while sipping Maltese wine, he will then walk slowly to the upper side of Valletta.
Walking past the buzzing atmosphere, he’ll stop at Archbishop’s Palace, which he had never been to, then walking to Castille Square to check out the interactive planċier with Tina (Tnejn) Mast’ project, observing as kids and parents conduct the choirs. Spazju Kreattiv is next, where he’ll get a bite and leave the hustle and bustle by watching some films by Alfred Vella Gera, reminiscing on old local films in the Short Film Festival.
BONUS: Everyone
There are highlights that everyone should experience, and one of them is definitely La Fura dels Baus Malta debut.
Limited to 500 people, you should probably head to this event early. While you’re at it, make sure to download the app Kalliope on App Store and Google Play. Spanish theatrical group La Fura dels Baus have achieved worldwide fame for their unique style of urban theatre merged with dangerous stunts, music and enforced audience participation. They arrived in Malta last week to host a workshop for local artists and theatre practitioners, where they are developing a piece specifically designed for the Maltese public.
The piece will premiere at Notte Bianca, between 8pm and 11pm at the Lower Barrakka Gardens.
Want to know how to get to Notte Bianca?
On the night, all roads leading to inner Valletta will be closed for traffic, except for residents, but getting there couldn’t be easier.
Malta Public Transport will be organising a special extended bus service – which will cost €2.50 for tallinja card holders and €3 for non-card holders.
Taxi services will be available from the Floriana Bus Terminus.
If you’re in the mood for something different, ferries will operate a shuttle service from Sliema to Marsamxett and from the Three Cities to Lascaris and back – from 7pm till 2am. For those arriving from the Three Cities, the Upper Barrakka lift will be operating – at a price of €1 per trip.
If you still insist on using your car to get there, never fear – the Floriana and Valletta car parks will be operating, as will the Park & Ride in In Blata il-Bajda.