Entertainment

This weekend finals in Prague revealed Tereza Kerndlova (21) as the Czech representative of Eurosong 2008. After last year embarrassing debacle with Czech drunk-rock hairy group Kabat, who demonstrated what damage can alcohol do to one’s brain cells, we have launched the exact opposite – Tereza Kerndlova is of the ‘shake your boody’ kind.

Tereza Kerndlova’s last album is a very modern, fresh, and directly pop album, in r’n‘b rhythm. Tereza’s visage is adult and sexy, very much like Jennifer Lopez or especially Beoncé. Looks sells, and Tereza definitely can act like a bombshell to boost her CD sales. But if you youtube her live show from this weekend finals, you may agree with the losing contestants, that her singing wasn’t ‘completely clear’; there might be a little problem without playback, but we will see.

Czech weapons for Eurosong 2008: love, good-looks, soul, desire, and pronouns me and you from all angles.

It is true, that Americans sometimes are rather lame in the matter of Europe’s geography, but to be honest, if a Czech is asked, what are the neighbours of i.e. Nebraska, he/she never knows. But that story is something. Just a starter:

… people – mostly American students – would ask me were:
1. Do you guys have traffic lights? ( I would answer: “No, we just dance naked around the fire”)
2. Is Czechoslovakia (I gave up correcting them on that one) next to Turkey?
3. You guys speak Russian?
4. Oh yeah, that’s by the sea, right?

The rest is here and it’s quite unbelievable

Like the last year, there are going to be ski competitions in Prague. The square closest to Prague castle, Hradcanske namesti, will be hidden under snow cover. According to the organizers, the only thing that needs to be solved is how to transport 2 000 cubic meters of artificial snow, which represents approximately 500 trucks.

Why in the very Prague center? Katerina Neumann, the chairwoman of the organizing committee says: “There is not a nicer place in Prague. The TV pictures going to the world will be fabulous.”

The idea is, on 30th of December 2007 Hradcanske namesti will be covered in snow to became the setting for the Tour de Ski competition. Sport in streets became a hit of the world’s metropolises. And a way, how to present the city as a modern and lively place, that can entertain not just its citizens, but visitors form all around the world.

City councillor for culture and heritage, Milan Richter, comments: “I am glad for such events in Prague. I’m not such a sport fan to go to watch skiing competitions somewhere in mountains, but if it will be in the center, I’ll be glad to come.”

Milan Richter is not the sole person who enjoys it. Those races are common i.e. in Oslo, Paris or Stockholm. And as in those cities, in Prague there won’t be just sports, we can look forward to other entertainment, like concerts, performances and programme for children.

It was very hard to find sex of the new baby gorilla Tatu, as it is not possible to see simply by eyes. It took some time, before they found a suitable faece for DNA analysis. And the result? It’s a boy. With 95% probability.

The exposé of the 4-months old baby gorilla sex was one of the surprises of the evening, prepared for the baptizing ceremony. The honoree got a basket full of presents; foot ball, plush monkey and a wooden car for instance. The car was the biggest success at the end.

Lucie bílá, the godmother of the gorilla baby wished him to have a family, just like his father Richard. When Tatu grows adult, he will have to leave the ZOO, as his older sister Moja. Male gorillas have to go to their new packs in their 7th or 8th year, females in their 6th or 7th year.

Number of wild gorillas gets smaller every year of approx. 7%. The reason is rainforests getting smaller, and numbers of poachers, hunting them for meet. The number of gorillas living in captivity is approx. 1000 worldwide. “Each baby gorilla is worth of gold, and we are happy we can help” says Prague Zoo manager Fejk.

The popular Swedish glam rock band The Ark is going to play in Prague on the 7th October.

The Ark achieved success with their debut album We Are The Ark (2001), which was awarded two Swedish Grammy Awards. The band has also represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest this year, with the hit single Worrying Kind from their latest album Prayer for the Weekend.

The Ark shows are well-known for being lively and flamboyant. Their show in Prague will take place in Rock Café (Narodni Street 20) and they will be supported by local instrumental band Sunflower Caravan. Tickets are available at Ticketpro and Ticketportal for 250,- CZK (300,- at the venue).

Aero cinema in Prague has chosen an interesting way, how to attract people to the screenings: there will be special evenings, called “Naslepo” (“Blind”), where visitors won´t know, which movie they are going to see.

The movies screened on these days will be special – those that cannot be seen in other cinemas (they are not in usual distribution in the Czech Republic), but which are nevertheless interesting and worth seeing.

People won´t pay any entrance fee before the screening on “Naslepo” nights. They will pay afterwards, according to how much they liked the movie. The first Naslepo screening will take place on 19th September at 8:30 pm. Aero cinema is situated in Prague Zizkov district, in Biskupcova Street 31. You can get there by a tram (9, 10, 16 or 19, stop Biskupcova). The nearest metro station is Zelivskeho (A line).

Erik Truffaz, one of the most respected European jazz musicians of the present time, will perform in Prague, Palac Akropolis, on Thursday. His music combines experimental jazz with hip hop and drum´n´bass and he is therefore called “Miles Davis of acid jazz”.

The music of “Erik Truffaz Quartet” (trumpeter Truffaz, keyboardist Muller, jazz drummer Erbetta and bassist Giulliani) is appreciated as creative, uncompromising and masterful. Erik Truffaz has already recorded more than 10 albums and he has achieved success also in the USA.

Music fans in the Czech Republic will have a chance to hear Erik Truffaz Quartet on Tuesday (18.9.) in Ostrava, on Wednesday 19.9. in Brno and 20.9. in Prague. The show in Prague starts at 7:30 pm and a ticket costs 400,- CZK (available at Ticketpro). Palac Akropolis is situated in Kubelikova Street 27, in Prague Zizkov district. Truffaz will be supported by Sophia Hunger.

Tropison Club in Prague situated on the 5th floor of the department store Kotva in Namesti Republiky is going to celebrate its 4th anniversary on Friday 14th September. The club wants to organize a big party full of Latin-American dances.

The celebration starts at 21:00 and it’s open for both professionals and amateurs. Lovers of Latin-American dances can look forward to the performances of Brazil dance group Brasil Show. Those who don’t master these dances can take mini lessons of salsa, samba and merengue during the evening.

The club prepares a rich programme with refreshment, performances of salsa, samba, carnival, lambada, bachata, afro, orient or rock’n‘roll.

Festival of Czech indie rock bands will take place in the Parukarka park in Prague on 1 ^st September. You can spend the whole afternoon there – the bands will play from 1 pm to 10 pm and the admission is free.

Parukarka park is situated in Prague 3, Zizkov district. The closest metro station is Flora, the closest tram stop is “Olsanske namesti” (trams 5, 9, 26).

Line-up:
13:00 – 13:40 STP
14:00 – 14:40 Loves Of A Blonde
15:00 – 15:40 The Roads
16:00 – 16:40 LakesideX
17:00 – 17:40 No Heroes
18:00 – 18:40 Road Side Mary
19:00 – 19:40 Living Room
20:00 – 20.40 Sweeper
21:00 – 21:40 The Slots

Catchy rhythms will sound from the “First Prague´s Beach” in Smichov tomorrow. There will be a concert of Gipsy.cz, the popular Czech band, combining hip hop with Romany music and pop. The band will also introduce its new video there.

Gipsy.cz are successful both in the Czech Republic and abroad: it is the first Czech band, which has ever played on the famous Glastonbury festival in the UK.

The show by the river Vltava will start at 6 pm, the admission is 150,- CZK. The First Prague´s Beach (1. Prazska plaz) is situated on the left bank of the Vltava river, between Palackeho bridge and Zeleznicni (Railway) bridge, next to the botel Admiral.

Inspired by the world famous carnivals the fifth Prague district will be full of coloured masks, dancing people and allegorical vehicles. The two-day Prague Carnival is planned on 31st August and 1st September 2007.

The programme will start on Friday 31st August in park Portheimka by handing over the key of the city to the king/queen of the carnival, followed by shows of dancers dressed in coloured costumes made of feathers and music performances.

Allegorical vehicles with people wearing masks will walk from nam. 14 rijna via Ujezd and Andel to park Portheimka, 1st Prague beach (in Smichov) and local bars and restaurants on Saturday 1st September.

One of the events within the carnival will be an international meeting of practitioners of Capoeira, Brazilian martial art created by enslaved Africans during the 19th century.

If you visit Letenske sady in Prague-Letna from 20th August till 2nd September you may see photographs flutter in the treetops, juggles and clowns on the pathways and many theatre performances on the grass. Letenske sady will host Letni Letna summer festival.

The biggest star of the festival will be one of the best known circus from France Cirque ici. They will perform ten times with their latest show Secret. Tickets for their shows are still available via Ticketpro network.

For those who would like to learn juggling can attend juggle course for free which will be held twice during the festival. Web pages of the festival (here) bring more information for those who are interested.

On the occasion of the 9th anniversary, Prague’s club Mecca will welcome one of the best music DJs in the world Roger Sanchez. He will perform in Mecca club (U Pruhonu 3) on 20th September 2007.

Roger Sanchez is a successful house music icon known in the world for his CDs compilations, club nights and a radio show listened by over 1.2 million of people in Europe and the USA every week.

Tickets for the evening can be bought via Ticketpro network for 890 CZK. You can also buy a V.I.P ticket for 1,990 CZK. To Mecca club you can get from metro station Holesovice (red line C) by trams no. 5, 12 or 15.

If you plan to visit this weekend other places than Prague, your good choice might be a small spa village in Hradec Kralove Region in the east of Bohemia. Visitors of this lovely place will turn back to the time when noblemen were strolling in the gardens and Count Spork, who founded the main feature of the village – a Baroque spa building, went hunting. To the times almost 300 years ago.

Annual celebrations will offer horse riding shows, old traditional markets, a period army camp, wine tasting, a reconstruction of historical events, a concert of scene and theatre music or big fireworks.

The celebration is held this Saturday from 9:00 to 22:00. Besides the programme of the celebrations, visitors can see the famous Baroque building, the lapidary of M.B. Brown statues, Church of the Holy Trinity and Czech Pharmaceutical Museum.

During summer Prague planetarium in Stromovka park offers two shows for English speaking visitors. They can chose from the show “Astrology and Alchemy in the Court of Rudolf II” or “The Night Sky”.

“Astrology and Alchemy in the Court of Rudolf II” will take them to the time of the reign of Rudolf II when Prague was the main European centre of science and art. The show will evoke the atmosphere of that period when people believed in magic and the power of stars. Visitors will also learn how alchemists worked and how horoscopes were cast for the emperor. The show is held every Tuesday and Saturday from 17:00 in the Cosmorana Hall.

“The Night Sky” reveals the most interesting constellations and highlights visible from the northern and southern hemispheres. The programme is accompanied with laser effects. The show is held every Wednesday from 19:30 and Sunday from 17:00.

The tickets cost 120 CZK, no discounts are possible. Individual English speaking visitors will get headphones to follow the show with Czech speaking visitors. Groups of 20 and more people can book the show in English version (without headphones) at planetarium@planetarium.cz.

A small tip – the visit of Prague Planetarium can be connected with the visit of nearby Krizik’s Singing Fountain in the area of Prague Exhibition Ground.

3rd year of the music festival that is held in four different places – at four Czech castles – starts today at Tocnik-Zebrak castles near Prague. Visitors can look forward to a Horror Night. Everybody who takes a mask with them will get a nice present.

The festival will present popular Czech musicians at several concerts – on 13th and 14th July in Tocnik and Zebrak near Prague, on 20th and 21th July in Kuneticka hora near Pardubice, on 27th and 28th July in Svihov near Plzen and on 3rd and 4th August in Bezdez.

How to get to Tocnik-Zebrak castles? There will be shuttle buses from railway station Zdice to village Tocnik between 11:00 and 16:00 today. If you don’t have tickets yet, they will be available at the venue for 180 CZK. Sleeping is possible in a tent for free.

Roxy Club (Dlouha 33 street) in Prague is known for concerts of present music bands from all over the world. In the past it hosted many popular music groups, such as Franz Ferdinand or Dandy Warhols.

For lovers of guitar music we have another piece of good news. American rock band from Texas with a very long name “…And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Death” is coming back to Prague after two years to perform here on 14th August 2007.

The concert of “…And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Death” will start at 19:30. Tickets are available in Roxy, or via Ticketpro, Ticketstream and Ticketportal for about 300 CZK.

Happy Beer Days is a beer and music festival that will present about 40 breweries and more than 130 kinds of beer. 3 stages will offer various kinds of music (theatre, rock and country) performed by more than 61 music bands (mostly Czech).

Besides tasting beer and listening to the music, you can take part in many additional activities, such as sightseeing boat trips, paintball, archery, go-karts or many competitions. A rich programme is also prepared for children.

The festival will take place on Cisarsky Island in Prague from 14th to 16th September 2007. Tickets are available via Ticketart.cz from 200 CZK to 500 CZK. The transport is provided by shuttle buses from Smichovske nadrazi (metro yellow line B) and then by shuttle boats from Vyton to Cisarska louka.

Professional barmen in the Czech Republic will show their skills in the final of the 5th Havana Club Grand Prix in Lucerna Music Bar on Thursday 12th July 2007. The best barmen will compete in two disciplines.

The barman show will be accompanied by the music of DJ Pedro Rodriquez and the performances of group Gulocar. After midnight there will be DJ Orion and DJ Mike Trafic with go-go dancers.

The evening programme will start at 18:00 and it will continue until 2:00 in the morning. Tickets are available in advance in Lucerna Music Bar or via Ticketpro.cz and Tickeportal.cz for 140 CZK, but the number of tickets is limited.

One of the most famous circuses Cirque ici will be the main star of the Prague festival Letni Letna that will be held in Prague between 20th August and 2nd September 2007.

Cirque ici will show their so far last performance Secret full of theatre magic, cirkus mastery, physical abilities and great atmosphere. The 100-minute show will be performed by Johann Le Guillerm, awarded the prize Grand Prix Nationale du Cirque, and his creative team.

Cirque ici will offer 10 performances in Letna park in Prague. Tickets are available via Ticketpro.cz for 540 CZK (every first 50 tickets for each performance will be 50 CZK cheaper).