SINGAPORE — To usher in the Year of the Dog, this year’s Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebrations 2018 will feature a rich line-up of festivities for local and overseas visitors, as well as dog lovers, pet owners and their furry loved ones to come together and celebrate Chinese New Year in Chinatown.
Crowd favourites such as the Street Light-Up and Festive Street Bazaar will be complemented by new events and interactive dog-themed activities that will add new colour and liveliness to the annual festival.
This includes Ushering “Paws-perity” @ Chinatown (3 Feb 2018), a special dog-themed carnival that will be held at Kreta Ayer Square. Dog owners will be able to find a variety of treats and apparel for their pets, including festive-themed items, and spend a fun morning in the heart of Chinatown bonding with their furry loved ones and other dog lovers. Taking place alongside the carnival is a Dog Costume Competition where dog owners can show off their pets dressed in their best festive-themed outfits. More registration details are available on http://www.chinatownfestivals.sg.
Another new event this year, brought back after 10 years, is the Flower Market (5-15 Feb 2018). Located at the car park at Banda Street, the Flower Market will be a one-stop shop for all your Lunar New Year blooms, with a wide variety of festive flowers and plants including ##### willows, tangerine shrubs, Pineapple Plant, Money Tree and ‘Fa Cai Suan’.
Dr Lily Neo, Adviser to Jalan Besar GRC GRO (KRETA AYER – KIM SENG) said: “Chinese New Year is a time not only to strengthen our family bonds, but to also build harmony in the community. Hence, our line-up of festivities reflects these values and promotes community bonding and harmony by inviting people of other races and nationalities to take part in the festivities and together, usher in the Year of the Dog.”
Organised by the Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng Citizens’ Consultative Committee (KA-KS CCC), this year’s Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebrations is themed “Blossoms of Happiness and Prosperity”.
The seven-week long celebrations will run from 27 Jan to 16 Mar 2018 and officially begins with the Official Light-Up and Opening Ceremony on 27 Jan 2018, which will be graced by Guest-of-Honour, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The public can expect to be thrilled by local and overseas acrobatic, music and dance performances, culminating in a rousing display of fireworks and firecrackers.
CHINATOWN STREET LIGHT-UP
One of the highlights of the Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebrations is the annual Street Light-Up (27 Feb – 16 Mar) where the heritage precinct comes alive in a mesmerising display of lights. This year, the streets of Chinatown will be adorned with 2,188 handcrafted lanterns.
Designed in collaboration with students and faculty from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) for the seventh year, the Street Light-Up features 88 larger-than-life size dog lanterns set amidst the changing of seasons from Summer to Spring. Four large set pieces, placed along the centre divider between Eu Tong Sen Street and New Bridge Road, depict man’s best friend in different scenes of work, rest and play in a year, while the changing of seasons is illustrated by different festive plants, flowers and colours, such as orange chrysanthemums for Autumn, green bamboo for Summer and pink orchids for Spring.
This leads to the 11m-tall centrepiece, a happy, loving family of dogs and their puppies with a giant gold ingot, standing proudly at the junction of Eu Tong Sen Street and Upper Cross Street.
The Street Light-Up also features auspicious symbols heralding wealth and good luck such as pineapples, oranges, and prosperity lanterns.
Visitors to Chinatown can also capture memories at a series of 3D dog-themed photo installations at nine photo spots spread throughout Chinatown, such as Garden Bridge and Chinatown Food Street. These are also designed by SUTD to give visitors a more interactive experience when they visit Chinatown.
LINE-UP OF FESTIVE AND COMMUNITY EVENTS TO USHER IN THE LUNAR NEW YEAR
In addition, local and overseas visitors can look forward to a rich line-up of traditional and cultural festivities suitable for the whole family.
A sold-out event each year, the 11th International Lion Dance Competition (2 & 3 Feb 2018) will see 14 top lion dance troupes from eight territories around the region, battle it out on the ‘meihuazhuang’ (Plum Blossom Poles) as they compete for the ultimate title of ‘King of the Lions’.
In the day, immerse in the history and vibrancy of the Chinese enclave with the Chinatown Chinese New Year Walking Trails led by seasoned volunteer guides. At night, visit the lively 420-stall Festive Street Bazaar (26 Jan – 15 Feb 2018) for your annual festive shopping and enjoy popular and unique eats along YouthEATs @ Temple Street, or be wowed by entertaining performances by local and overseas performers at the Nightly Stage Shows (27 Jan – 15 Feb 2018), including mask-changing segments and ventriloquist performances.
KA-KS CCC will also organise community events that bring various races together in celebration of the Lunar New Year. This includes Harmony Night and the Mass Reunion Dinner for about a thousand people from underprivileged families and needy elderly residing within Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng Constituency as well as volunteers to enjoy an early Chinese New Year celebration.
The festive atmosphere will scale to its peak at the Chinatown Chinese New Year Countdown Party on 15 Feb 2018, featuring Mediacorp artistes and other performers in a live countdown show on the eve of Chinese New Year. Closing the Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebrations 2018 on a high note will be the Chingay 2018 @ Chinatown on 25 Feb 2018. (More details will be announced separately by the People’s Association (PA) and the Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebrations 2018 Organising Committee).
For the full list of events and more details, please visit:
Website: http://www.chinatownfestivals.sg
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chinatown-Festivals/186429804750588