FISM GALA BANQUET :: BY CRAIG MITCHELL

FISM China have delivered the goods with another *spectacular* banquet dinner. Simply unbelievable. Lavish & oppulent, another beautifully printed menu with drinks and food flowing throughout the evening. Entertainment started off with a full symphony orchestra, Vanessa Mae style band and an award-winning classical opera star. The mind boggles at the military precision that must be going on behind-the-scenes to pull this off. Incredible. And this is the SECOND banquet of this level.

Special FISM awards were presented to Juan Tamariz for Philosophy and Theory ... Bill Kalush received History and Research ( accepted by Richard Kaufman ) ... and Creativity to Jim Steinmeyer.

With the activities of the past few days finally catching up ( and a welcome opportunity to get to sleep before the early hours ) I ducked out early while the rest of the entertainment and merriment followed. Hopefully someone can fill us in as to the balance of the line-up.

In other top secret news - Shawn Farquhar and Marc Oberon are in the finals of the Grand Prix contest tomorrow. A glitch in the in-house TV system resulted in their entire rehearsal being broadcast throughout the convention centre - ruining the surprise of the announcement and making for an impromptu lecture dvd ;-)