PLANNED CIRCUS DELAYED

Plans by Battambang’s Phare Ponleu Selpak to establish a circus in Siem Reap are temporarily on ice due to the dreaded financial problems, according to a spokesman. Back in Battambang, the circus school roof, damaged during a storm in March, has been fixed thank to the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development. The damaged roof tiles have been replaced with a metallic roof.

Meanwhile the animation studio of Phare Ponleu Selpak has completed an animated trailer for the movie about Angkor titled Athkombang Angkor. The trailer will be used to help find business partners to help produce the 10-minute animated movie.

ANGKOR MUSIC FEST DELAYED

The Phnom Penh promoters of super-ambitious three-day music fest are doing the rounds of business houses looking for sponsors. The Angkor Music Festival promoters are hoping to attract a crowd of 50,000 plus music fans, and on their promotional cd they have a long wish list of big-name “possible” performers.

The official announcement launch was to have been held in Phnom Penh last week but this has been pushed back, as has the festival date itself. The festival date was originally set for November which is now looming fast on the horizon and last week the promoters said March 2013 has now apparently been tentatively penciled in.

SALAI BAI DIRECTOR EXITS

Iconic hospitality training school Sala Bai’s director Jean-Paul Dethomas has stepped down from the gig and was replaced on August 1 by Claude Colombié, who will also be director of Agir pour le Cambodge in Cambodia.

On August 27, Marie-Ombeline Amiot will join as the fundraising and communication manager.

Meanwhile, the hunt is for a new director at the Centre for Khmer Studies following last week’s announcement by Dr Michael Sullivan that he will exit by year’s end.

The Centre’s president Dr Lois de Menil has named a search committee of four trustees to seek a successor. The job announcement will be posted in the press soon and on the CKS website, with applications due October 15.

HAPPY PIZZA REPORTS

Interesting stream on Khmer440.com forums answered the question, “Does Siem Reap have authentic Happy Pizzas Still?”

A reader queried, “I heard that the government cracked down on the happy pizza's around Cambodia. And the last 'happy pizza' I had in Phnom Penh wasn't exactly happy for me, but I'm going to Siem reap this weekend and I'm hoping to give it another shot if its possible.”

One response read, “They do, but you gotta quietly request for it. The one an acquaintance been to and said it was decent, forget the name, it's on the left turn from Canadia bank. Dont quote me on it though. I've got a chihuahua barking up my ass, help!!”

Another post read, “The only one I find consistently lacking the 'happiness' is in Kampot (Happy Dreamily, by the Old Bridge). Not super recent, but I was pleased with my pizza in SR about 1.5 to 2 months ago.”

And finally, “I had one in Sinville last week that almost killed me! It was great.”