George Town Festival of Penang - Best Annual Events Malaysia

The mid-year Georgetown (or George Town) arts festival is a month of music, dance and visual art featuring artists from Malaysia and other countries.

Finland's Blinded Mind dance troupe: performing July 4 in Penang

As you might guess from the above photo of a Finnish dancer in Blinded Mind, Penang's annual arts festival has a decided contemporary emphasis. There are some traditional performances--such as the demonstration of the Malay martial art silat and the sacred songs of the Philippine Madrigal Singers at the 2012 festival. But you're more likely to see something like the Lee Wushu theater company, which "merges the traditional martial art of Wushu with contemporary dance forms to create a unique stage performance."

CommunicAsia - Best Annual Events Singapore

Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Casino, Expo, etc.

CommunicAsia is Asia's biggest yearly trade show and conference for the computer, telecoms and information technology industries. It is always held in Singapore in June. If you are in the region, you might want to visit.

How big is CommunicAsia? If the previous year is any guide, CommunicAsia2013--which will run from June 18-21--should draw more than 35,000 attendees. About half the attendees come from foreign countries. If at least 20,000 people are filling up the hotels, you might want to be aware of the dates for CommunicAsia just to avoid visiting Singapore at that time.

The event has two parts. The following details are based on the  2012 event: I'll update as new information become available. The first part is the enormous trade exhibition, which is free to attend if you can show you're involved in a relevant industry. The second is the conference, consisting of panels, speakers and workshops which have several prices and packages. As in recent years, CommunicaAsia2013 will take place in the convention center of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Casino, sometimes called simply MBS.