Below are 8 fabulously fun festivals and cultural activities in Singapore over the next six months that are worth noting in your calendar. They range from food and arts to dance and spiritual celebrations.
A two-week Chinese New Year celebration
Chinatown throws a fortnight-long party starting in January. Temples open their doors and stalls selling raw fish salad and decorations glow under lanterns of the night bazaar. See in the lunar year with floats and performances at the Chingay parade in Marina Bay.
Thaipusam Hindu festival of faith
This Hindu procession in February is a unique test of faith for the devotees. Ornate, colourful frames – Kavadis – are borne from temple to temple in the middle of the day, carried by the faithful attached to body piercings.
Singapore Arts Festival
May and June evenings are packed during this month-long cultural fair with international dance ensembles, music and art installations. Singapore shopping centres, playing fields and museums transform into theatre and gallery venues as the island embraces the contemporary and avant garde.
Temple visits on Vesak Day
Monks meditate in Singapore’s flower-scented Buddhist temples to celebrate Buddha’s birthday in May. This public holiday is the best time to visit the Feng Shui layout of the Lian Shan Shuang Lin monastery in Toa Payoh district where chanting sessions are in full swing.
Singapore River Festivals
For a week in June the bars along Boat Quay serve cocktails from dusk until dawn for the Singapore River party while traditional Chinese bumboats parade the waters. In the same month, international dragon boat crews descend on the Marina Bay shores for the high-octane Dragon Boat Festival races.
The Lantern Festival
Lion dances entertain locals who head to Chinatown to stock up on seasonal moon cake pastries during this colourful mid-autumn festival. The pagoda and bridges of Chinese Garden in Jurong are covered in novelty and animal lanterns that all ages will adore. It is held at the Chinese Garden, Jurong East, Singapore.
Spicy evenings for Deepavali
Little India’s main street Serangoon Road has its own auspicious Festival of Lights in October, when the Hindu community parties for Deepavali. Join walking tours that point out the best henna artists and sweetmeat shops, or see shrines garlanded in the temples. It is at Serangoon Road, Singapore.
Photo credits: OnSingapore.com and Journeymart. Photos shown do not reflect exact event they are placed near but there to give you a visual idea of what to expect from this vibrantly colorful city. Discovered and extracted from Hotels . com.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
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