We know the new work year has started and will definitely gather momentum over the coming months.
With seven long weekends to be exploited, we thought we’d share a list of some fun and exciting things happening in and around Singapore for you and the family to take a breather at. Let’s get down to the planning and choose what works for you!
One of our favourites, the Singapore Art Week returns for the eighth time with the theme ‘Art Takes Over’. Get ready to indulge in all things art and stimulate your creativity through activities and events spread across Singapore, from galleries and museums to backstreets and alleys.
Works will include those of renowned artists from across the globe and Singapore, with exclusive pieces on display at Singapore Art Week. Art will also take on overtones of technology and the future through digital art exhibitions, public art trails and an augmented reality showcase.
What better way to celebrate the Lunar New Year than to be part of the largest, most anticipated Lunar New Year event of the year. River Hongbao 2020 will feature special choreographed fireworks, interactive exhibits, intricate handmade lanterns and exciting fringe activities, games and performances to keep you entertained through the entire evening.
There will be Chingay performers in an exciting cross-over with River Hongbao on 31 Jan and 1 Feb 2020, so be sure to join in early to book the best viewing spot!
Here’s something for the whole family! Spilling into the weekends, the Singapore Festival of Fun will add a new ambience to Clarke Quay in March. Families with kids can look forward to an interactive children’s fair, a festival of street performers and a string of comedy shows.
Familiar characters will also be there to entertain visitors: PAW Patrol, SpongeBob SquarePants and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at the Nickelodean Fiesta. If you’re looking for a little bit of history, stick around the Fiesta as it unravels Clarke Quay’s past.
Also present will be contortionist Bendy Em, plus international daredevils, gymnasts and jugglers like Pancho Libre, Jump Stilts Extreme and Circus Sonas, some of who will be in Singapore for the first time and specially for the event.
From the team that brought you the Future World exhibition at ArtScience Museum comes an interactive art display that promises to be a sight to behold. #futuretogether is an immersive art exhibition jointly presented by Gardens by the Bay and GIC, with art by art collective teamLab, in support of the Singapore Bicentennial.
With seven digital art installations across both the indoor and outdoor spaces of the Bayfront Plaza, these exhibits will encompass three themes – Aspirations, Connectivity, and Possibilities.
If the sound of raucous sonic booms and aerobatic flying displays are your thing, then watch out for the annual Singapore Airshow this February! Filled with adrenaline-pumping aerial stunts and death-defying manoeuvres, it is a show that is not to be missed.
Come down and get up close with the latest commercial and military aircraft displays as well as other exciting activities for the whole family.
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New Staycation Options
Located within the grounds of the acclaimed Laguna National Golf & Country Club, the Dusit Thani Laguna Singapore is scheduled for a soft opening by the second quarter of 2020. The 198-roomed hotel will boast eight pavilions, an all-day dining multi-ethnic restaurant with show kitchens, a pool bar and grill, a Dusit deli and Laguna National’s award-winning restaurant, The Nest.
Looking for something more urban? Then consider The Clan Hotel by Far East Hospitality. Set in downtown Singapore and located just across from the Telok Ayer MRT station, the 324-room property is also slated to open in the second quarter of 2020. Catered for the experience driven traveller, the hotel is said to feature carefully curated touchpoints that will connect with travellers through unique experiences that will not only deliver a deeper cultural connection but also a stronger sense of place.
If proximity to the main shopping belt of Orchard Road is your thing, then look forward to The Singapore EDITION, by the boutique luxury-lifestyle brand, EDITION Hotels. Located on Orchard Road at the site of the former Boulevard Hotel, the hotel’s design and services will offer a distinctive hospitality experience defined by Singapore’s embrace of the future, technology, arts and culture.
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Music Festivals
From Ultra Music Festival which has been taking place annually since 2015, to Singapore’s first Songkran Music Festival held at Wild Wild Wet @ Downtown East, there is no shortage of music festivals to unleash your inner party animal.
Here are some of the events to lookout for during the first half of the year:
- Songkran Music Festival Singapore 2020: 11 Apr
- Singapore’s First and Only Songkran Music Festival at Wild Wild Wet!
- Hydeout Music Festival: From 10 to 11 Apr & 17 to 18 Apr
- Introducing the region’s first multi-genre music festival, Hydeout allures and gathers every tastemaker for the most extraordinary music revelry.
- Garden Beats Festival 2020: 29 Feb
- Garden Beats’ 6th year creates a space of freedom and diversity where Garden Dreamers are welcome to escape the sounds of the city and tune into nature.
- Singapore Rockfest II 2020: 4 Mar
- Singapore RockFest makes a return with a double-bill headliner – Scorpions and Whitesnake will be taking back Fort Canning with explosive sets filled with classic rock and roll.
- Ultra Music Festival 2020: From 20 to 22 Mar
- Ultra Singapore is believed to be amongst the best electronic music festivals in Singapore since its inception in 2015.
We’ve seen how far Singapore has come since the British first set foot on our tiny island as we celebrated Singapore’s bicentennial year. With all the hype on the last 200 years, have you wondered how the country might look like in the next two centuries?
We don’t have a crystal ball to give you an answer, but several imaginative artists, architects, filmmakers and writers have given a shot at the possibilities.
Join the curators of this interactive exhibition as they attempt to answer questions ranging from the effects of climate change to future technology.
Since 2010, the i Light Singapore festival has lit the city skyline annually with works of art that use sustainable energy to visually captivate visitors.
This year’s event promises to shine brighter than ever with 15 sustainable light art installations spread across the Singapore River, Marina Bay and the Civic District.
Check out Singapore in an entirely different light! Experience the magical return of the Singapore Night Festival this year as the Bras Basah and Bugis heritage precinct gets turned into works of wonder.
Be sure not to miss the signature highlight of the festival as the walls of the Singapore Art Museum, and the National Museum of Singapore get turned into murals of light that will dazzle your imagination.
Bonus: Reunion Exhibition by NTUC
From strikes to the negotiating table; from protecting workers’ livelihoods to the setting up of a supermarket co-operative to keep the prices of essential commodities down. In fact, the Labour Movement 50 years ago would be unrecognisable to many of us today.
Take a journey down memory lane with the Labour Movement to discover the birth of NTUC’s social enterprises and tripartism, and find out what the future holds for our workers at this exhibition.