SINGAPORE – It is less than a month to the Mid-Autumn Festival, when people savour mouthwatering mooncakes, admire lantern displays, and celebrate family reunions under a full moon. The Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Sept 29 this year, will be celebrated in several places across the island. Admission is free.
Chinatown
The Chinatown Mid-Autumn Festival, themed “A Journey of Love and Celebration”, will come to life with lanterns adorning the streets of Chinatown. The official light-up and opening ceremony will be at Kreta Ayer Square on Sept 15 at 7pm.
Following this, the street light-up will be from Sept 15 to Oct 14, 7pm to midnight, in New Bridge Road, Eu Tong Sen Street, South Bridge Road and Upper Cross Street.
There will be a festive fair during this period from 10am to 10pm, at the open space in front of People’s Park Complex. Visitors can also catch stage performances at Kreta Ayer Square on Sept 16 and 17, 7pm to 9pm.
Gardens by the Bay
The Mid-Autumn Festival returns bigger and better at Gardens by the Bay, from Sept 15 to Oct 1, 6pm to 10pm. Themed “Garden of Blooms”, it will feature nine lantern sets, a mass lantern walk and free lantern giveaways on the first day from 7pm.
Highlights include the “Magpie Bridge”, a lantern set which floats on water. Drawing inspiration from the love story of the cowherd and weaver girl, the 20m-wide and 8m-tall set features 38 magpies forming a bridge with their wings to reunite the legendary lovers.
There is also “Pavilion”, a lantern set that doubles up as a performance stage.
Set against the backdrop of the Supertrees, musical dramas inspired by Chinese classics like The Butterfly Lovers and Wandering Swordsman are staged for visitors within the pavilion of this massive 17m wide and 9m tall set.
“Our Secret Garden” lantern set showcases fantastical creatures, designed by ART:DIS artists who are on the autism spectrum.
“Blooming in Dance” presented by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea features four types of Korean traditional dance. These lanterns are made from hanji, a form of traditional Korean paper.
There is also a Thai-themed set of traditional Lanna lanterns, presented in collaboration with the Royal Thai Embassy.
SPH Media’s Chinese Media Group is a partner for Mid-Autumn Festival at Gardens by the Bay, along with official radio stations UFM100.3 and 96.3 Hao FM.
Jurong Lake Gardens
“Lights by the Lake 2023 @ Jurong Lake Gardens”, organised by the National Parks Board, will feature 240 lanterns organised into nine sets, from Sept 16 to Oct 1, 7pm to 11pm, at Jurong Lake Gardens.
Four of these sets will be themed “Wildlife Odyssey”, which explores the diversity of the animal world.
Another four, under the theme “Echoes of the Lion City”, will explore the structures and activities that have characterised Singapore across different eras.
A final set will take the form of lantern arches, which showcase the intricacy of orchids.
Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre and Singapore Chinese Orchestra
The Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC) and the Singapore Chinese Orchestra are organising the first “Mid-Autumn Family FUN” from Sept 29 to Oct 1 at SCCC and Singapore Conference Hall.
Themed “Modern Traditions”, the 14 activities encourage families to celebrate Mid-Autumn traditions with a modern twist.
Highlights include concerts and performances, guided lantern walks, food trucks, stargazing and an Autumn Fair with over 50 local and overseas vendors. Selected events are ticketed. There are also different freebies on different days.
Check out https://str.sg/iTir.
Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall
The Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall is organising the Wan Qing Mid-Autumn Festival 2023 from Aug 29 to Oct 1. Greeting visitors at its lawn are a pair of giant panda lanterns titled A Mid-Autumn Paw-trait. It has also teamed up with various clan associations to present programmes for visitors to learn more about the dialect cultures of the Chinese community.
Highlights of the Wan Qing Mid-Autumn Festival open house on Sept 23 and 24 from 10am to 6.30pm include a Teochew cultural trail by the Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan; a Hokkien song and rhymes workshop by Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan; and a parent-child Hakka abacus seed making workshop by Nanyang Hakka Federation. Some events are ticketed.
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