Thursday, August 27, 2015

Second weekend of Singapore Night Festival 2015 - Glimpses of humanity

Photo source: Bras Basah.Bugis FB page.


After a fantastic first weekend of the Singapore Night Festival 2015, will you be game for more during the second weekend of the Singapore Night Festival 2015?

The second weekend, while enjoying the glitz and glamour of the nights, I shall look out for programmes that will remind us of our shared humanity. We are so different yet we are so similar and interconnected. So here are my special picks for the second weekend:

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Before the show.

Lost Vegas
By Frankie Malachi (Singapore)
28 Aug and 29 Aug 2015
7 p.m.
Free admission with registration

The puppets maneuvered by the award-winning puppeteers, Frankie Malachi, may not be real human beings, yet under the skilled hands of puppeteer, they communicate glimpses of humanity. We love, and we fear. We experience sadness, joy, anger and more. Frankie is a pioneer in the use of giant puppets, marionette puppetry and black-light puppetry in Singapore.

News: As of 26 Aug 20115, 5.30 p.m., all tickets to Lost Vegas shows have been taken up.

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Garden of Angels.

Photo source: Bras Basah.Bugis FB page.

Garden of Angels - Performance
By Theater TOL (Belgium)

Parade starting from Armenian Street
28 and 29 Aug 2015 
8.00 p.m. (30 minutes)

National Museum of Singapore, Front Lawn
28 Aug and 29 Aug 2015
9.00 p.m., 11.00 p.m. (25 mins show)

Are you someone who likes the paintings of Russian-French artist, Marc Chagall, whose works were based on emotional association? One essential feature of being human is that we experience emotions. How would a dance move, a facial expression and a body gesture be associated to our emotions?

For the Night Festival supporters who would be willing to wait till the second weekend of this year's festival, they will find themselves joining dancers, musicians and more in a surreal and vibrant parade that will start at 8 p.m. from the Armenian Street. The parade culminates at the National Museum of Singapore.

As the title of this performance suggests, with a bit of imagination, be prepared to witness an aerial carousel of angels descending from the heavens. Don't many of us hope for miracles in our lives?

May we find enough hope and miracles in our lives.

Rehearsal: Theater TOL Armenian Street.

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Bugis Street. At Cheng Yan Place.

One of the Festival Specials:

Bugis Street

Cheng Yan Place
29 Aug 201
8 p.m. - 12 midnight

This may be the festival special for anyone who would like to catch a one-night only glimpse of Bugis Street in the glitzy days of its past. Those were the days when it was the international go-to place for fun, comedy, cabarets and more. Expect to see staged flamboyantly-dressed women and sailors posing for photographs and dancing to the tunes. This festival special at Bugis Street aptly reveals a common humanity's interest in having fun, lots of fun? Our definition of fun can be subjective however.

Tip: To enjoy the best of this one-night only glamourous Bugis Street event, it could help to leave the children at home or have them being well-supervised and entertained at one of the museums, especially the SAM@8Q, while the adults check this out. While this event does not have adult-only content, we would prefer not to have too many inquisitive questions from our young ones that we could not answer, won't we?

Please keep our expectations moderate for this. This festival special is actually not one of the main highlights of the Night Festival. However, I have chosen to bring special attention to it because it is an one-night only event that will attempt to offer a glimpse of the past flamboyant nights of Bugis Street.

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Eat@Festival Village
SMU Green
21 Aug and 22 Aug 2015
28 Aug and 29 Aug 2015
SMU Campus Green

A trip to the Singapore Night Festival 2015 will not be complete without checking out the Festival Village to enjoy performances by the local artistes. Furthermore, there will be a number of specialty pop-up food stalls reminding us that we human beings need food to survive. Take the MRT train to Bras Basah MRT station to head for the SMU Campus Green.

Being a biased and picky eater, my personal favourite are:
Spinacas for its Meaty Nachos - for the meat-lover who thrives on protein
The quarters - The durian creme brulee is a dessert for the durian lover.
Swag - for people who love having vegetables or like an option that is vegetarian.
Nomad - The Gallant - For its satay-in-a-cup, the affogato and beverages.

Spinacas
The durian creme brulee (duriancanboleh)
Swag
Nomad - The Gallant















The rest of the food stalls also serve delicious food. Could you share with me your verdict please?

More information on Eat@Festival Village can be found here: http://nightfest.sg/festivals-programmes/programmes/festival-village-eat-and-shop

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Garden of Angels. By Theater TOL.

In addition to the above-mentioned picks, you are welcomed to customize and design your own Singapore Night Festival 2015 itinerary by browsing through the Singapore Night Festival 2015's festival website: http://nightfest.sg

Please be reminded that most of the night lights from the first weekend will continue to be showcased during the second weekend, so you could refer to my earlier blog-post: Singapore Night Festival 2015 - Glitz and Glamour for an option or two.

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Singapore Night Festival 2015
21 Aug and 22 Aug 2015
28 Aug and 29 Aug 2015
http://nightfest.sg
https://www.facebook.com/brasbasahbugis

Zone 1: National Museum of Singapore (The main festival zone)
Zone 2: Armenian Street (The edgy and experimental festival zone where music, song and dance take centre stage)
Zone 3: House of Glamour (An eclectic mix of ticketed local performances on Cathay Green)
Zone 4: Festival Village (Local bands, buskers, flea market and pop-up food kiosks)
Zone 5: SAM and Queen Street (The artistic activities gather here)

Festival Tip: Choose one or two zones from this year's Singapore Night Festival 2015 and focus on enjoying what the zone/s has to offer for the night. After which, visit the Singapore Night Festival on another night to check out another zone.

Festival Tip #2: Travel by public transport, especially by MRT train, as there will be road closure and slow traffic on the roads of the vicinity. The nearby MRT stations are: Bras Basah, Dhoby Ghaut and City Hall.

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