There is a festival for almost anything these days, but hey, if they’re good, we’re not complaining. This weekend, you’ll want to head out for the likes of block party Street of Clans over at Bukit Pasoh, fuel and gear up for the return of Garden Beats music fest, or just go low-key at Haji Lane stalwart Going Om’s 11th anniversary party. There’re plenty to keep you entertained.
Friday, Mar 8
PARTY
Before Haji Lane was cool, there was Going Om. Eleven years after its founding, the dive bar on Singapore’s official hipster street is now celebrating with a big thank you party, where their Pani Puri shots are making a comeback for just $10 a pop, the perfect fuel to keep you going till the wee hours dancing merrily on the street. Mar 8
DRAG
Success looks good on Bianca Del Rio. Less than two years after her first show here back in 2017, the RuPaul’s Drag Race superstar is back for another comedy show—as part of her ‘It’s Jester Joke’ tour. She must really like us! Mar 8
FOOD/DRINK
In celebration of International Women’s Day, four renowned female chefs and mixologists in the Singapore scene are taking over the kitchen and bar of Publico Ristorante, dishing out a eight-hands, four-course dinner menu complete with suitably Italian aperitivo and digestivo pairings. Through Mar 8
ART/PARTY
Keong Saik’s equally happening sister street, Bukit Pasoh Road, will be turning into a lane filled with installations, activities and music at the inaugural Street of Clans, a block party of sorts with the many clan houses along the road opening up their usually closed doors to the public. Part of Singapore Design Week 2019. Mar 8-10
THEATRE
Co-presented by Centre 42 and Malaysia’s Five Arts Centre, Are You Game, Sau(dara)? is an original double bill of two works sure to pile on the nostalgia. Both plays were created as an artistic response to Malaysian playwright Leow Puay Tin’s seminal work Three Children on childhood and memory. Mar 8-10
MARKET
Whether you’re a vintage purveyor or a casual flea-goer, the Katong Square Lifestyle & Vintage Market that runs every second weekend of the month is for you. You’ll be sure to find a horde of booths lining Katong Square, hawking all things vintage—haute couture, home decor, keepsakes, jewellery, vinyl records and more. Mar 8-10
BOOK/FESTIVAL
#BuySingLit 2019 is here, with this third edition bumped up to take place over two weekends. From kopi sessions with local authors to interactive storytelling, the line-up of more than 50 programmes is set to make SingLit more accessible than ever. Start stockpiling your GrabRewards points too—you’ll be able to use them to redeem local lit titles at partner bookstores as part of the festival. Mar 8-17
Saturday, Mar 9
MUSIC/FESTIVAL
Sunshine Nation’s annual Garden Beats is back at Fort Canning Green, with this fifth edition of the sustainable music and picnic fest diversifying from its usual EDM line-up. English indie rock band The Kooks will be headlining, while other jazz and R&B outfits will aso be adding to the mix of top acts taking the stage. Mar 9
PARTY
It’s gonna be a pajama-wearing Slumber Party at Bar Rouge’s first themed revelry of the year. Come dressed in your best sleep attire for free entry before working the dance floor, and you just might win yourself a three-course dinner with Champagne for two at neighbour Skai restaurant. Mar 9
FESTIVAL
Annual international break-dancing competition and pioneering street dance festival in Singapore *Scape Radikal Forze Jam returns for two eclectic weeks of workshops, dance battles and even a beach party to end it all with a bang. Get ready to let loose. Mar 9-17
FESTIVAL
The nation’s biggest ground-up literary movement #BuySingLit returns, and with it the second edition of Textures, The Arts House’s own mini festival of arts. This year, themed ‘Love and Loss (and some things in between)’, Textures 2019 offers a bumper crop of more than 40 text-based programmes sure to impress. Through Mar 10
THEATRE
Pangdemonium is dialing back the fantasy for the first show of their 2019 season. Stripping things down to the foundation of pure dialogue and acting, they will present Late Company—a simple but searing look at cyberbullying and society today. Through Mar 10
THEATRE
If you love talented thespians, satirical songs, and confronting racial stereotypes, you’re in luck. After a sold-out premiere in 2016, Dream Academy’s hit show Meenah and Cheenah is back for a second run, starring beloved local actresses Siti Khalijah and Judee Tan in the respective former and latter roles. Through Mar 10
Sunday, Mar 10
FESTIVAL
It’s the start of Singapore Design Week 2019—that actually takes place over two weeks—and this mighty sixth edition once again brings the various design industries and public sector organisations together to advance the use of design for good. There are lots happening for the public, from exhibitions big and small to talks and fairs and even a block party. Through Mar 17
EXHIBITION
Local art gallery Utterly Art is throwing its own party in recognition of International Women’s Day. The space on Mosque Street is bringing together 10 of its best female artists for an art show aptly titled Utterly Woman, that’s as empowering as it is often lacking in the scene here. Through Mar 17
ART/FESTIVAL
A brand new arts festival, The Future of Our Pasts Festival, hopes to bring Singapore’s micro-narratives to life, reimagining communities and places of the past and present. Nothing is off the table; the festival will explore various facets of Singapore history—from more well-worn icons like the Sungei Road Thieves Market, to lesser-known stories like the history of classical composition by Singaporean composers. Through Mar 17
CARNIVAL
The second coming of the Prudential Marina Bay Carnival is here, set to transform the Marina waterfront into a colossal fairground filled with rides, games, food, and of course, plenty of pretty lights. This time, entry is free, and with more rides to check out than before. Through Mar 24
EXHIBITION
Trace the Polaroid camera’s fascinating history at the National Museum of Singapore’s latest exhibition, In an Instant: Polaroid at the Intersection of Art and Technology, featuring over 200 Polaroid artefacts and artworks from the original collection. Through Mar 31
EXHIBITION
What do national service, shamans and an apocalyptic Singapore have in common? They’re all tied to some form of mythic tradition—and are each explored in this year’s edition of Stories That Matter. Look out for the highlight of the programme—four feature-length documentaries from Brazil to Singapore that interrogate the role both traditional and contemporary myths play in our lives today. Through Apr 14
EXHIBITION
The ground-breaking Minimalism: Space. Light. Object exhibition spanning National Gallery Singapore and ArtScience Museum traces the origins and evolutions of the Minimalist art movement, in more than 150 works loaned from all over the world. Check out our quick picks here. Through Apr 14
EXHIBITION
Asian Civilisations Museum and London’s British Museum are coming together to present Raffles in Southeast Asia: Revisiting the Scholar and Statesman, to illuminate the different sides of founding father Sir Stamford Raffles himself. Peer into the historic Raffles Collection on loan from the British Museum, that comprises largely Javanese and Sumatran objects Raffles personally collected during his time in the region. Through Apr 28
FOOD
In need of good steak at reasonable prices? Pop-up steakhouse The Feather Blade is where you need to be. The London’s Flat Iron-inspired restaurant will be setting up shop at where Club Street stalwart Zui Hong Lou operates, dishing out quality cuts for just $21 every weekend for a limited time; chow down while you can. Through Apr 29
EXHIBITION
One of Singapore’s smallest minority communities is finally having their moment in the spotlight at Chetti Melaka of the Straits: Rediscovering Peranakan Indian Communities. Come hear the lesser-known stories of the Chetti Melaka, also known as Peranakan Indians—descendants of early South Indian migrants who to Singapore in the 15th and 16th centuries, and married local Chinese or Malay women. Through May 5
