Construction of the NT$4.55 billion Taipei Pop Music Center began yesterday, with President Ma Ying-jeou, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), Minister of Culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) and local representatives from the music sector attending the groundbreaking ceremony.

The annual Taipei International Food Show, scheduled to be held next week, is one of the most important food exhibitions in Asia and will showcase a wide variety of food products and two cooking competitions, according to the organizers.

The annual Ho Hai Yan Rock Festival kicks off on July 10 along the northeast coast's Gongliao District, featuring such famous local bands as May Day (五月天) and Soda Green (蘇打綠), as well as over 50 other independent bands over the festival's five days, the New Taipei City Government said yesterday.

Foreign musicians and dancers yesterday recalled late pop singer Michael Jackson's legacy and his impact on their lives, ahead of a the theatrical production in Taipei by Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil.

The Taiwan Pavilion at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, to be held from Oct. 9-13, will showcase an array of books, comics and e-readers from Taiwan, the Taipei Book Fair Foundation said on yesterday.

Beccafico Caffe, hidden inside a small alley near Shandao Temple Station, looks like a regular coffeehouse aside from the fun chalk drawings on the wall outside and its hard-to-pronounce dessert names. The wide tea selection and variety of unique coffee drinks, along with the hand-drawn menu, however, reveal the hidden truth that Beccafico is anything but a regular coffee shop.

American hard rock band Aerosmith will perform at a rock festival in southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung Aug. 24, the first time the legendary band will perform in Taiwan, festival organizers announced yesterday.

An exhibition featuring photographs and paintings of Switzerland will take place in late June, as part of a series of events aimed at fostering good ties between the European country and the Taiwanese people, the organizers said Saturday.

China Airlines (CAL) yesterday unveiled a fuselage painted by Jimmy Liao, one of Taiwan's most famous illustrators, in a bid to promote Taiwan's creativity and environmental awareness to the world.

Imagic Media Group recently began showing a famous Indian film “Barfi!” at cinemas around the island, according to a press release issued from the group.