Events & Festivals in Singapore.![]() |
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We are a group of students working on a school project based on the events and festivals in Singapore. This blog is for a school project and the information provided is correct at time of blogging.
Singapore Peranakan Museum November 2009 December 2009 Designer: xoxo, Basecodes: California blue |
Date : Saturday, December 26, 2009 Time : 8:43 PM Title : A Christmas All Decked Out @ Orchard Road! Christmas is one of my favourite festivals of the year! The lighting decorations everywhere put me in a festive mood even before 25th of December. I am not going to miss out on all the fun! Therefore, I have decided to make a trip down to orchard road with my friends yesterday. This year’s Orchard Road light up is themed “A Christmas All Decked Out” and showcases fashion as one of the key elements of the famous road in Singapore. It not only attracted the tourists, but many locals as well. ![]() ![]() Reindeers turned human-like! They are all specially designed, this is my first time seeing reindeer in trendy clothing!
![]() ![]() Experience Bethlehem from over 2000 years ago and get to pose with the three wisemen! All these can be found along the road from Ngee Ann city to Wisma Atria. ![]() ![]() Prizes are given out to the lucky ones too. There are many street performances that night. ![]() ![]() Other than fashion, culture is one of the elements too! You can see street peformers like her playing a chinese instrument known as the Pipa. Even though Christmas is a western festival, Singapore, a multiracial country celebrate Christmas in a unique way! ![]() ![]() A Ferrero Rocher Christmas Tree! No other christmas tree can be more creative than this (Well, maybe except for the inverted Christmas tree at Tampines 1)! Large crowds can be seen along the stretch of road as well. People are busy taking photos, watching performance and having a great time with family and friends. I did enjoy my day too. However, I regretted not taking as much photos as I can. There are still many other performance and displays. But these are all that I have. If you do not wish to miss out, remember to come down to Orchard Road and get a fun-filled experience next year! Overall, I had an awesome Christmas celebration together with friends. Hope everyone of you did. And since Christmas has passed, I hereby wish you all an upcoming Happy New Year!
Date : Thursday, December 24, 2009 Time : 2:15 PM Title : Christmas in Singapore! Celebrating Christmas in Singapore As we are anticipating the arrival of 2010, Christmas comes cruising in. As we are already halfway through December, the Christmas bells chime, summoning joy, happiness, celebrations and awesome parties and events! Christmas: this special festival is celebrated by millions across the world with joy and happiness. In Singapore, despite the multicultural identity, Singaporeans come together and celebrate Christmas with the same enthusiasm they celebrate their own cultural festivals with. During this period, Orchard Road and Marina Bay (the two most renowned places for Christmas celebrations) are totally transformed with beautiful decorations and lighting, reflecting the vibrant mood of Christmas. ![]() Performances from well-known performers staging various presentations such as dance, music, drama and fine arts can be found along Orchard Road on both sides of the walkway fronting Wisma Atria and Ngee Ann City. These exciting performances are special lined up by the Celebrate Christmas In Singapore (CCIS) Organization. Visit their website for more details on organization: Celebrate Christmas In Singapore. Christmas shopping destinations in Singapore Christmas is always associated with shopping. Singapore is an ideal shopping destination. Ranging from trendy outfits to home appliances, all of these are offered at the shopping malls, shopping centers and street side shops found all over Singapore. Orchard Road is one of the popular shopping destinations in Singapore. It is packed with shopping malls, shopping complexes and eateries. The following are some of the major shopping venues at Orchard Road:
For more details on Christmas happenings in VivoCity, visit VivoCity website and the list of shopping malls/centers in Singapore can found here. With that, we would like to wish you Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
Date : Monday, December 14, 2009 Time : 11:08 AM Title : The trip to the Peranakan Museum Reading about the Peranakan Festival fueled my interest to know more about the culture so I decided to go to the Peranakan Museum for a field trip. The Peranakan Museum is located at 39 Armenian Street, Singapore 179941. The museum explores the culture of the Peranakan communities in the former Straits Settlements of Singapore, Penang, Malacca and their other links in Southeast Asia. It is an amazing place to learn about the culture. The museum exhibits the lifestyle of the Peranakans in ten galleries with special programme exhibition introduced throughout the year. Here are some photos I snapped (some with the help of the security guards!) : At the Food & Feasting gallery, a wide variety of Peranakan utensils was on display. I noticed that each utensil was designed with detailed and colorful patterns, and I think it would take several hours or maybe days to really study the intricate designs found on these utensils! - At the Wedding gallery, the 12-days Peranakan Wedding was elaborated. ![]() I was clearly admiring the Pagoda tray. These magnificent trays are used to bear important wedding gifts like jewellery; furthermore, the designs found on the trays were really unique as it was extremely detailed and you would need a better lens to properly study the designs. - I was aware of the ongoing private jewellery collections by the Peranakan families; The Baba Bling exhibition. Unfortunately, I was prohibited from taking any photographs while in the exhibition. There was an extensive collection of unique jewellery on display. Most of the jewellery have sapphire stones on them, some even have diamonds. I learned that the jewellery is worn by the Peranakan women to display their family wealth so during the good times, they would wear golden belts, and diamond-studded kerongsang, also known as brooches - used to fasten their traditional kebayas. Both the quality and the size of the kerongsang displays her husband's wealth and status in the community, as such, it is often looked upon in the community's important functions. It can be seen during their hard times that the Peranakan ladies would only have plain metal jewellery with no diamonds. The Peranakans do not use golden jewellery during mourning periods, but they would instead use specially crafted silver and pearl pieces. - Finally, I ended my trip feeling satisfied about all the knowledge I gained from visiting the museum. I urge all of you to take some time off your busy schedule and go visit the unique museum and be enlightened with what they have there. In conclusion, I think this whole effort of promoting and preserving the Peranakan culture is a good effort done by the Peranakan Association. With the existence of such events, the public will be educated either directly or indirectly. For more information on the Peranakan Museum, kindly visit its website or just click on the link provided on the left side of the blog. - Posted by Sunarti
Date : Sunday, November 29, 2009 Time : 6:38 PM Title : The Peranakan Festival 2009 An Introduction to Peranakan Heritage. The Peranakans are the descendants of the early Chinese community who settled in the Malay archipelago back in the 17th century. Peranakan culture is made up by rich blend of the Chinese and Malay cultures with minor influences from the Portuguese, British, Thai, Indian, Dutch and Indonesian cultures. Over time, the Peranakan community evolved with Chinese traditions and festivals but at the same time showing a strong Malay influence in the food, language and dressing. All in all, the Peranakans have their own unique culture, tradition, cuisine, architecture and lifestyle. The Peranakan Festival 2009 In Singapore, The Peranakan Association (Singapore) has introduced The Peranakan Festival since 2005, the effort to promote and preserve the Peranakan culture, through more accessible public events. Now in 2009, The Peranakan Association is continuously aiming to conduct a showcase of Peranakan culture and heritage. ![]() The Peranakan Festival will be held from 27 November to 6 December 2009 with various events happening in various location in Singapore. The Biggest and Best Babazaar One of the first few events that kick start the whole festival is "The Biggest and Best Babazaar". Venue: Singapore Management University (SMU) Concourse Date: 28th to 29th November 2009 Time: 11am to 6pm Admission Fee: Free This event comprises of food and craft fair with over 100 stalls ranging from food and craft demonstrations and special offers, a flea market, a sale of heirloom-quality furnishings and collectibles, art exhibitions, a photography exhibition, information panels on Peranakan history and culture, and many more. Some pictures of the Babazaar. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The following are the other various events under The Peranakan Festival: 1) Bedrooms/Bilek Roda Hidop - The Play 25 - 29 Nov: Bilek Roda Hidop directed by Zizi Azhar 1 - 6 Dec: Bedrooms directed by Alvin Tan Tickets: S$28 and S$38 (20% off for students, senior citizens and The Peranakan Association [TPA] members) are available at SISTIC. Hotline: +65-6348-5555. Website: www.sistic.com.sg Tickets prices exclude S$3 SISTIC fee. 2) The Heirloom Sale Description: Antiques and collectible from private collections will be offered for sale. Venue: SMU Concourse Date: 28th to 29th November 2009 Time: 11am to 6pm 3) Baba Art - An Exhibition Description: Featuring Peranakan-themed artwork by young and emerging together with established artists specially curated for the Festival. Venue: SMU Gallery and Concourse Date: 28th Nov to 6th Dec 2009 Time: 11am to 6pm 4) Joo Chiat: Our Peranakan Heritage Description: A photography competition/exhibition. Organized by the Joo Chiat CC Youth Club, 30 photographs with a Peranakan theme will be selected by a panel of judges and will be exhibited at SMU Venue: SMU Concourse Date: 28th Nov to 6th Dec 2009 5) Baba Bling by The Peranakan Museum Description: An ongoing exhibition (till 13th Dec 2009) featuring exquisite jewellery from the private collections of many Peranakan families. Museum open house: 5th and 6th Dec 2009. Venue: The Peranakan Museum Date: On going till 13th Dec 2009 Admission fee: S$ 6 per person (Concession available for full-time students and National Servicemen) 6) The Quiet Collector Description: A forum session about various Peranakan lifestyle. Speakers: Richard Wee, Tan Gek Suan, Lisa Lim, GT Lye Venue: The National Library Date: 2th Dec 2009 Time: 6.30 pm t0 9 pm (Welcome reception will be held from 6.30 pm to 7.15 pm) 7) NUS Museum Talk: Not Just My Grandmother's Kebayas Description: Penang-born Christine Khor, Director of NUS Centre For The Arts, will showcase a selection from her 100-strong kebaya collection to illustrate the evolution of the Nyonya wardrobe. Venue: NUS Museum Date: 3rd Dec 2009 Time: 6pm to 7.30pm Limited seats. Reservation accepted on a first-come, first-served basis from 16th Nov 2009. Please email babahouse@nus.edu.sg 8) Peranakan Trails Description: Heritage tours organized with the support of the Singapore Tourism Board. Tours are conducted in both English and Mandarin. Learn about the significant buildings with Singapore's CDB and visit Peranakan enclaves both famous and little-known. Date: Daily from 27th Nov to 6th Dec 2009 Time: 8.30am to 2pm Contact Luxury Tours & Travel at +65-6732-4188 to book/enquire. 9) Baba House Tours Description: A guided tour of an authentic early 20th century Straits Chinese family home. The house undergo a one-and-a-half-year restoration with extensive archaeological examination of the site. There is a maximum of 13 persons per tour. Date: 5th Dec 2009 Tour fee: S$5 per person (special rate for the Peranakan Festival 2009) An advance reservation is required, email babahouse@nus.edu.sg 10) Baba Food Extravaganca Description: Savour the Nyonya delights on offer at various famous restaurants including Spices Cafe at Concorde Hotel, Princess Terrace Cafe at Copthorne King's Hotel and many more. For full details, please visit www.peranakan.org.sg/food - For more information on the Peranakan Festival 2009, visit the The Peranakan Association Singapore Festival Page.
Date : Monday, November 23, 2009 Time : 11:08 AM Title : So, Yu Tong and I decided to conduct a field trip to Anime Festival Asia 2009! Okay, we intended to go there all along, but we thought we might as well call it a field trip and draft a report. It gave us an excuse to take many photos. Without further ado! Here are the pictures: Us arriving at City Hall MRT! ![]() Those were the photos of the entrance before the festival started proper. Yu Tong and I arrived there about 8am, with some friends, and we immediately encountered some cosplayers. ![]() ![]() ![]() We also saw a masterful figurine of an internet sensation, Hatsune Miku, in one of her incarnations as the Black Rock Shooter. Hatsune Miku is a Vocaloid, a singing program by Yamaha, who's popularity has risen astronomically in the past three years. Various other merchandise was showcased, especially of the renowned series Gundam, by Bandai Entertainment. A cosplay competition was also held, where entrants whose costumes were of exceptional quality would enter and be judged, and the winners of the Grand Prize and the Special Prize would take such prizes as a trip for 2 to Japan! ![]() Coincidentally, this magnificent Gundam cosplayer won both the Grand Prize, and the Special Prize. (The Gundam is the giant robot with the glowing green eyes) Not so magnificent is this Gundam. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Finally, to end the day, Yu Tong and I managed to track down Kaname, a professional cosplayer who is Yu Tong's idol, and we succeeded in getting him to autograph a shirt as Yu Tong's birthday present. As you can see, the Anime Festival Asia 2009 was a place where one could rub shoulders with celebrities, admire the workmanship of Japanese figurines, experience curious facets of Japanese culture like a maid cafe situated within the convention hall itself, and generally find out more about this aspect of Japanese pop culture.
Date : Thursday, November 12, 2009 Time : 10:13 AM Title : Anime Festival Asia 2009 To begin the first post, we'll have a short introduction of the closest upcoming event, Anime Festival Asia! The Anime Festival Asia 2009 (AFA) will be held on the 21st (Saturday) and 22nd (Sunday) of November 2009, at Suntec Convention and Exhibition Halls 403-404, and will incorporate Animation Asia Conference 2009. It is one of the greatest and biggest events in South East Asia, which features aspects of Japanese animation and popular culture. Those who are able to appreciate such things are strongly encouraged to come! However, why go to this festival in Singapore, when one can go to the real thing? A valid question, but if one is unable to speak Japanese with any degree of coherence, then it would be a better idea to attend this festival which is largely conducted in English (I too, am utterly devoid of Japanese language skills). Tickets are needed for anyone who is 13 years old and above. A one-day pass will be SGD$15 for adults and SGD$12 for students, and a two-day pass will be SGD$25 for adults and SGD$20 for students. Tickets can be purchased at the AFA 09 event or pre-registration (only for a two-day pass though). Cosplayers* and kids under 12 years old do not need a ticket to enter. *On a side note, pre-registration for cosplayers free admission is closed. AFA has a wide range of activities for cosplayers, bloggers, otakus, collectors, kids, and anyone who enjoys Japanese culture. With new attractions such as the Moe Moe Kyun Maid Café , staffed by 8 beautiful ladies, and the ‘I Love Anisong’ concert, both of which we will cover below, and plenty of merchandise for the fans: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() In addition to that, those interested in artwork will note that AFA will also feature other booths related to things like digital media, and last year, one of our local studios, Imaginary Friends Studios, got to showcase their work! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() While these artworks may not always be related to Japanese anime or conform to Japanese art styles, they are still commendable examples of digital artistry, and should you so wish, you can purchase prints of these works from the artists themselves at their booth. Also, there may even be a section allowing the artistically-inclined to doodle freely! Here are some photos taken of the board from last year. ![]() ![]() ![]() Highlights of the event: 1. ‘I Love Anisong concert’ ‘I Love Anisong’ is a music concert held during AFA 09, with appearances by Shoko Nakagawa, Hatsune Miku, Ichirou Mizuki, Yoshiki Fukuyama, and MAY'N. These guests are either voice actors/actress or singers (except Miku, she's a vocal program), who are famous in Japanese animation world. Tickets are sold at SGD$188 for a two-day pass and SGD$108 for a one-day pass. Purchasing tickets allows you to stand a chance to get an autograph from your favorite ‘I Love Anisong Artiste’ of your choice. Of course, buying more tickets will increase your chances, which is what I intend to do. Merchandise is also available online or at their booth during AFA 09. [I Love Anisong shirts!] 2. Danny Choo Danny Choo is a blogger who lives in Japan, and was awarded the Blogger of “Best Japan Blog” award of 2009. Among his articles, he covers quirks of Japanese culture within Tokyo, interesting updates on Japanese anime and related merchandise, and even tourist attractions in Japan (I must admit though, it is largely about anime and figurines). Here's his blog! 3. KANAME☆ A professional Cosplayer renowned for his portrayal of Cloud Strife from “Final Fantasy VIl: Advent Children” and Ichigo Kurosaki from “Bleach”. As one of the invited judges of AFA Regional Cosplay Championship at AFA09, the ante of the competition is sure to be ramped up! He will also gain more fans in Singapore (those who haven't heard of him yet at least), and female otaku will almost certainly fall in love with him (I agree! I'm also a fan of his! -YT). KANAME☆ Profile Page on Cure: http://ja.curecos.com/profile/?ch=72203 4. Moe Moe Kyun Maid Café This is a new attraction of AFA, as it was not present at AFA last year. It’s a classic maid café with 8 lovely ladies at your service (Their uniforms are those of traditional Western maids mind you! Seeing as Singaporeans might have slightly different idea). Their menu has yet to be revealed, and while the dishes are mostly Western, with few of Japanese origin (ironically), signature dishes such as omu rice (omelette rice), curry rice, and cakes should be part of it. [On a side note, I think they're selling some merchandise related to the café, some little badges. Unconfirmed yet, but I'll keep you all posted as soon as I find out!] 5. K-ON Experience K-ON is a Japanese animation series that originated from a four-panel comic strip by Kakifly. There will be a live dubbing (voicing for characters in languages other than the original) session in AFA 09. Fans of the series are sure to find this a treat, as they will get to meet their favorite characters in real life! So to speak, admittedly. But nonetheless, Hisaka Youko! It is like having Mio Akiyama talking to you personally! We might also be able to get their autographs, though this is probably a case of luck. 6. Competitions There will be a few competitions held during AFA 09; Regional Cosplay Competiton, Bandai World Gundam Competition, Extravaganza 09 and WS World Grand Prix. This year is the first ever Regional Cosplay Championship in South East Asia. It is a cosplay competition among selected cosplaying teams from countries in South East Asia. Finalists will perform and be judged by a panel of distinguished guests from Japan including internationally renowned cosplayer Kaname☆. Pictures of finalists and details of the competition can be found here. (Just to let you know, cosplayers are people who dress up as their favorite characters from movies or an anime series. I've included some photos taken from last year's Anime Festival Asia). ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Bandai World Gundam Competition is a competition where participents have to post their Gundam works online, and judges will determine the winner. The winning piece gets to be displayed at AFA in the form of graphic prints at the Bandai showcase in AFA. Extravaganza 09 is a major art competition for those who like drawing and designing digital works. This year’s theme is ‘Gaming’, and these works will also be exhibited in AFA. WS World Grand Prix will comprise of players facing off against each other in the latest hit in anime trading-card games, WS. WS stands for Weiβ Schwarz, which is a type of anime trading game. Players can use heroes and heroines from the latest animes and games to battle against each other in an epic showdown. 7. Bandai Experience Zone Bandai is the third largest producer of toys in the world. It was founded by Mr Naoharu Yamashina in 1950, and has gone on to become firmly established as Japan's leading general toy manufacturer; the company continues to blaze new trials in various fields of entertainment. In AFA 09, Bandai has many events and activities catered for everyone. Kids can enjoy their day at Bandai Kids Land where there are special activities for them. Bandai is also giving away free Ben10 toys for kids who registered for Bandai Kids Land. Bandai will also launch new products at AFA 09, such as Harumika, Power Rangers Jungle Fury (the sixteenth and latest version), Gunpla, and the Battle Spirits Trading Card Game. In addition to this, the latest technology in sound recognition systems will be introduced in the form of Joysound, a karaoke system that can select scenes from various shows or animes, and then allow you to use your voice to dub that particular scene, or even do covers of your favorite songs! These are the highlights for now. New events will be added at the official AFA 09 site (http://www.afa09.com/index.html) as the date approaches. AFA 09 has special accommodations and hotel packages for foreign visitors. For more information visit the AFA site for overseas visitors. |