Singapore to usher in the Mid Autumn Festival with a Bang

Come end this month, Singapore's Chinatown will hear the riotous explosion of fireworks, as Singapore ushers in this year's Mid-Autumn Festival. A colourful fireworks finale will be the highlight of the festival's opening ceremony on 31 August, which will be graced by President S.R. Nathan. This year's Mid-Autumn celebrations, which will take place between 22 August and 15 September, will be anchored in colourful Chinatown and the scenic Chinese Garden.

Also adding to the festive cheer in Chinatown will be a towering display of gigantic 36-ft high animated lanterns, specially flown in from Szechuan, China, which will hover over a carnival near Sago Lane throughout this festive period. Singapore residents and visitors can also look forward to nightly staged shows by the Beijing Opera Troupe at Kreta Ayer Square, as well as nightly processions of the traditional fish pole lantern parade through Pagoda, Sago and Trengganu Streets, which will also be transformed into a street market selling lanterns, mooncakes and other festive goodies.

For the first time, the celebrations in Chinatown will extend to People's Park Complex, where a national moon-cake competition will be held. With Eu Tong Sen Street and New Bridge Road lighted up especially for the celebrations also for the first time, the Mid-Autumn festivities in Chinatown promise to be a truly multi-sensory experience.

Chinatown will not be the only place to burst into a hive of activity during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Chinese Gardens too will also be transformed into a haven of lanterns and fun events for the entire family.

Following its success with its Disney-themed lanterns last year, the Chinese Garden this year will present an eye-catching blend of Japanese popular culture and Chinese traditions as popular Japanese Sanrio characters, such as Hello Kitty and Little Twin Stars, take to the skies as larger-than-life lanterns. Families can look forward to 24 exciting and innovative exhibits throughout the 13.6-hectare Chinese Garden. Adding a twist of the unusual will be creative lanterns crafted from innovative materials such as medicine bottles.

Other festival highlights include fringe activities at various venues including Haw Par Villa, Jurong Point Shopping Centre and Albert Mall, where Singapore residents and visitors can look forward to a wide array of stalls selling different varieties of moon cakes, tea and lanterns. Festive celebrations are also lined up at Sentosa, Plaza Singapura, and at Ngee Ann City, where the best lion dance troupes in Singapore will be strutting their stuff at the Ngee Ann City National Lion Dance Championships.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, which traditionally celebrates the legend of the moon fairy, Chang Er, is supported by the Singapore Tourism Board, in partnership with key stakeholders, including the Jurong Gardens and the Kreta Ayer Citizens Consultative Committee, among others.

This year's festival also offers more interactive elements with mooncake-lovers invited to learn the traditional art of making mooncakes through workshops organised by the Restaurant Association of Singapore. Among the more unique recipes to be offered include mouth-watering mooncakes with Chinese ham, salt and pepper and fruit jelly. As usual, Singapore residents can also partake in a wide variety of mooncakes which will hit the stores during the festival. Some of the more exotic offerings this year include black cherry, custard, apple tatin slice and duck rillette pate mooncakes, among many others.

STB's Director for Sightseeing and Attractions, Mr Chang Chee Pey, said: "The Mid-Autumn Festival is an important iconic cultural event and we are indeed happy to see that it has grown in popularity over the past two years. We will continue to raise the profile of the festival and we hope that the Mid-Autumn celebrations will one day develop the same kind of stature and become as popular as the much-loved Lunar New Year celebrations.'' 

"The STB will also continue to work closely with the relevant stakeholders to come up with ever more interesting and innovative events and activities to ensure that the Mid-Autumn Festival continues to be a big draw for all Singaporeans,'' he added.

The Mid-Autumn Festival 2003 is one of the highlights in the exciting line-up of events under STB's Singapore Roars! Campaign. Launched on 18 June 2003, Singapore Roars! includes a six-month line-up of attractive travel and accommodation packages, Roaring Great Deals, Roaring Surprizes sure-win lucky draws for visitors along Orchard Road and a global advertising campaign, all of which are geared towards a long-term sustainable recovery for the tourism industry.