The National Day revelry might be over, but the momentum continues this weekend with the second weekend of the visually captivating and all-encompassing Civic District Outdoor Festival, film screenings at three very different festivals and venues and the start of Resorts World Sentosa’s inaugural Street Eats pop-up.
Friday, Aug 11
POETRY
As part of this year’s IndigNation, catch an evening reading of love poetry in Malay, Tamil, Mandarin, Kristang and Thai by Singaporean and Malaysian writers and poets like Ng Yi-Sheng, Kokila Annamalai, Irfan Kasban and more. Aug 11
FILM
If you’ve yet to catch Garth Davis’ feature film debut Lion, which stars Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman, get a ticket for the screening Singapore Open Air Cinema Club. The film follows a young boy who’s taken many miles away from home after getting lost on a train. He was ultimately adopted by an Australian couple, but quickly goes on a journey 25 years later to find his lost family. Aug 11
FESTIVAL
Feast your eyes at the first Civic District Outdoor Festival and check out historical monuments like National Gallery Singapore, The Arts House, Asian Civilisations Museum and Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall as they turn into canvases and venues for a myriad of art installations, stage and music performances, art markets and food streets. Aug 11-12
MARKET
Not into minimalistic and hipster trends? Dig out vintage goods at Katong Square Lifestyle & Vintage Market where more than 30 resident booths including batik craftspeople MoroBatik, vinyl collectors Karang Unique and eyewear brand Mystic Vintage will be displaying their goods. They’ll also have a table selling items at 52% off in celebration of the nation’s birthday. Aug 11-13
FOOD
Because going local is cool, this year’s Epicurean Market is, for the first time in five years, stepping away from its pure fine dining slant and featuring Singaporean favorites at a new Singapore Street Food experience booth that will be modelled after a two-story shophouse. Aug 11-13
MARKET
If you still haven’t gotten enough of fleas and ploughing through kitschy market offerings, dive in to the Red Hot Flea at Baghdad Street. Street apparel, jewellery, artworks and accessories are just some of the items that will be on offer. Aug 11-13
FILM
Following last year’s successful first edition, the Middle East Film Festival is back with films that will delve deeper into the lives of people living in the troubled region. This Friday will see the screening of No Land’s Song, a film that tells the story of a young composer who seeks to organize a concert for solo female singers in a country that forbids women to sing as soloists in front of men in public. Through Aug 20
THEATER
Ah Boys to Men might be the current reference when it comes to depictions of National Service, but for anyone old enough to remember the ’90s, nothing can compare to Army Daze. Thirty years on, playwright Michael Chiang is giving us a sequel. Through Aug 20
FILM
Singapore’s annual open air cinema Films At The Fort returns to natural amphitheater Fort Canning Park with a total of 15 great films. This weekend’s screenings include films like Life Is Beautiful, Top Gun and Hell or Highwater. Through Aug 20
EXHIBITION
Lego has teamed up with the Piece of Peace executive committee (made up of Parco Co. Ltd., Lego Japan and Bau Communications) to showcase the various UNESCO world heritage listed sites built using Lego blocks as part of ASEAN’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Singapore is the first Southeast Asian country to host this once-in-a-lifetime UNESCO world heritage art exhibition. Through Sep 3
Saturday, Aug 12
PARTY
Herstory‘s celebrating Singapore’s birthday in a big way, even though it’s three days late. They’re throwing a massive party over at Canvas, with resident performers, DJs Special K and Roy, playing into the wee hours of the morning. Aug 12
PARTY
Headquarters by the Council is opening up their rooftop for a massive showcase of local beatmakers. Spanning across two rooms, The Council Openair will let you go for some light dancing up top with some disco and house tunes by Brendon P, DJ KFC and more. Then go hard at the dark recesses of the main room downstairs as the usual suspects like Julien Brochard and EJ Missy fill it with hard-hitting floor fillers. Aug 12
FOOD
Resorts World Sentosa will be turning its Malaysian Food Street into the epicenter of Southeast Asia’s diverse offerings of local grub for their inaugural Street Eats pop-up, featuring 11 stalls from countries in the region on top of the nine that are already at the enclave. Aug 12-20
PERFORMANCE
The signature big top circus tent of Cirque du Soleil will be erected once more in Singapore next month, this time, bringing their new production Kooza to our shores for the first time. This will mark the world famous Canadian troupe’s fifth foray here. Through Aug 20
OPEN HOUSE
Check out Changi’s new Terminal 4 and all its swanky, cutting-edge technologies and art works before everyone else this month at their two-week open house. Through Aug 20
THEATER
After its original staging in 2002, followed by two more sold-out runs in 2003 and 2006, Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) and Esplanade are bringing back Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress for a limited time this month. It tells the story of a legendary Empress Dowager of China, and her trials and tribulations she goes through only to become a victim of lies and rumors. Through Aug 20
EXHIBITION
Asia’s largest mirror maze has landed in Singapore as a new permanent installation at Science Centre Singapore. The visually-appealing maze features 105 mirror cells, more than 17 interactive exhibits and experiments on light, a bunch of holograms and fake exits. Admission is free but you’ll still have to pay admission charges to the center itself.
Sunday, Aug 13
MARKET
Now a staple in the local flea market scene, the Really Really Free Market is back at Maplewood Park with their motto of reducing consumption and waste—and a day of sustainable shopping. For first-timers, expect to see a community of vendors come together to lay their wares on mats—books, CDs, toys, clothes and more; don’t be afraid to pick up anything that catches your eye. Aug 13
EXHIBITION
Kult Gallery’s launching a new series to showcase the urban art scene from other countries. Titled “From the streets”, the first of its series will shine the spotlight on the Philippines, featuring the works of more than 20 artists. Through Aug 26
EXHIBITION
Enter the whimsical world of Yayoi Kusama at National Gallery Singapore, the first big-scale survey of her work in Southeast Asia. Yayoi Kusama: Life is the Heart of a Rainbow curated by the Gallery’s Russell Storer and Adele Tan, will showcase more than 120 paintings, sculptures, videos and installations spanning over seven decades—some of which have never been shown before. Through Sep 3
ART
Now that The O.P.E.N. is over, check out the 90 different talks, workshops, plays and other boundary-pushing performances at this year’s Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA). Through Sep 9
FOOD
After a great first run, local Szechuan cuisine pioneer Si Chuan Dou Hua is bringing back last year’s well-received vegetable-based menu. This time, expect dishes rarely seen in a Chinese restaurant, like the Portobello Mushroom with Truffle and Orzo Pasta served with Szechuan Chilli Sauce, served as part of a course menu ($78-$98) that is filled with meatless (not strictly vegetarian) creations. Through Sep 15
FOOD
The popular Singapore Restaurant Month is now a full-fledged festival, thanks to the Restaurant Association of Singapore bringing together more than 200 chefs who will be preparing a locally-inspired dish at their respective eateries for the very first Singapore Restaurant Festival. Through Sep 30
EXHIBITION
Robots have invaded the ArtScience Museum and everyone’s invited to take a peek at what the future of cybernetics, artificial intelligence and genetic modification might look like at the HUMAN+: The Future of Our Species exhibition. Come with an open mind as you interact with life-like humanoids and find out how robots are already living among us. Through Oct 15
