3-day carnival at Singapore Botanic Gardens over National Day weekend

SINGAPORE — This national day long weekend, there’ll be a three-day carnival at Singapore’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Botanic Gardens.

The carnival, from Aug 7 to Aug 9, will feature a range of performances, free movie screenings and activities such as traditional games and crafts. The National Parks Board (NParks) will also hold the third in a series of six free public concerts under the SG50 Concert Series in the Park and the National Day Parade will be broadcast live in the Gardens on Aug 9.

Local artistes and groups will take to the stage, including Rui En, John Molina, Olivia Ong, Taufik Batisah and Corinne May. There will also be the classical melodies from Singapore Lyric Opera, accompanied by symphony orchestra and opera singers whose performance will include a modern-day twist by home-grown talents, The Sam Willows.

In 1959, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew chose the Singapore Botanic Gardens as a venue for cultural concerts with a multi-ethnic theme. Its role of fostering social cohesion by encouraging the community to bond through multi-cultural performances continues on today, NParks said in a press release today (July 21). And in following with that tradition, the concerts will be featuring local acts in multi-cultural performances hosted by Suhaimi Yusof and Vernetta Lopez.

Other than the slew of free concerts, a variety of activities and game booths that will operate from 10am to 5pm, where visitors can try their hand at traditional games and crafts, view cultural arts such as the botanical themed batik painting and calligraphy, and enjoy snacks such as the old school biscuits and kacang puteh.

Other golden jubilee celebrations announced earlier include free admissions to the National Orchid Garden for Singaporeans and permanent residents from July 10 to Aug 31.

The Gardens’ food and beverage outlets will also be offering National Day promotions next month. Halia, Casa Verde, Corner House and Di Wei at Food Canopy have prepared menus to celebrate SG50 and the inscription of Singapore’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

NParks has advised that visitors to take public transport. Botanic Gardens MRT Station will have shuttle bus services on Aug 7 and Aug 8 available from 10am to 11pm. On Aug 9, shuttle services will run from 10am to 10pm.

Events at the the Singapore Botanic Gardens: