Pedal-powered DJ booth, yoga in the dark at Earth Hour

SINGAPORE — As many as 200 companies are minimising the use of their lights for Earth Hour on Saturday (March 25).

The usual slew of initiatives includes restaurants dimming their lights, and malls turning off their facade illumination.

However, WooBar at W Singapore Sentosa Cove is upping the ante — there, people will be invited to party to music from a bicycle-powered DJ booth.

Called Sip.Spin.Repeat, the event is a partnership between WooBar and non-profit organisation International Bicycle Film Festival (IBFF), which has provided four power-pedal bicycles for the event.

The catch: The music will stop if no one is on the bicycles.

“The bicycles are connected to a motor that converts kinetic energy into electricity,” explained Lin Liangmin, director of marketing communications for W Singapore at Sentosa Cove.

“In turn, this electricity is connected to a junction box that regulates the voltage and powers the DJ console.”

Asked if there is a minimum time one must commit to being on the bike, Lin said that “each turn really depends on the cyclist’s willpower”.

As to whether there will be an abrupt halt to the party if no one is willing to sweat it out, Lin promised that “we will ensure there will be people cycling”.

It helps that drinks will be offered at promotional prices — the bar’s Harry’s Tokyo cocktail, served in a lightbulb-shaped glass, will be on a buy-one-get-one-free promotion for the night.

The lights will also go out at fitness studio Yoga+ on Pagoda Street, but this does not mean that activities will not be held.

Bianca Pereche Gamboa, founder and yoga instructor at Yoga+, is hosting a 60-minute Yoga in the Dark session.

“This is a simple way to contribute (to Earth Hour) — by turning the lights off for an hour,” she added.

But the Yoga in the Dark session is also in line with her belief in yoga philosophy, which encourages practitioners to discover “pratyahara, or the withdrawal of the senses”, said Gamboa. Gamboa and Yoga+ co-founder Suffian Thuri will lead participants through the class. For safety, a few candles will illuminate the studio.

But for the most part, participants will rely on precise verbal cues. The gentle-flow class will move to a slow pace, with gentle twists, backbends, lunges and floor poses.

“Anyone who doesn’t want to be alone in the dark (on this night) can join this class,” quipped Gamboa, who will at times play an instrument called an acoustic handpan during the class.

Ten per cent of all proceeds from the W Singapore event will go to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature Singapore (WWF). Yoga+ will also donate proceeds from its event to the WWF. 

WooBar is located at W Singapore Sentosa Cove, 21 Ocean Way. Admission to Sip.Spin.Repeat is free.

Yoga+ is located at 28 Pagoda Street. A drop-in class is S$30.