Mark your calendars and visit Chinatown Singapore for the Dragon Boat Festival celebration from 7-9 June 2024 on Smith Street. Organised by the Chinatown Business Association (CBA) in collaboration with programme partners, dive into the origins and cultural significance of the Dragon Boat Festival, learn to make Hainanese rice dumplings, win attractive prizes at the Dragon Boat (Rowing Machine) Contest, and enjoy traditional Chinese performances at Smith Street and the Chinatown Visitor Centre.
The Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, is an important festival for Chinese communities around the world. Originating from southern China, the festival has its early origins in the worship of the river dragon, before it became associated with the commemoration of Qu Yuan, a third-century poet and patriotic statesman during the Warring States period (475-221 BC) of ancient China.
CBA, in collaboration with Sun Yat-Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, will host a Dragon Boat Festival exhibition entitled “Dragon Boat Festival: Of Thumping Drumbeats and Delicious Dumplings”, to invite visitors to uncover the rich history and cultural origins of the Dragon Boat Festival, the significance of rice dumplings and how it is made across by different Chinese dialect groups, and how dragon boat races came about.
Exciting games and activities await visitors to the Dragon Boat Festival at Smith Street. Get your adrenaline pumping for the Dragon Boat Race and compete to burn the greatest number of calories in five minutes and stand to win Chinatown Food and Beverage Vouchers worth $30. Alternatively, participate in the Guess the Number of Bak Chang in a Gunny Sack Contest. Families with children can also look forward to fun activities like lantern riddles, storytelling, dragon boat craft workshop or participate in traditional childhood games including pitch-pot, hopscotch and five stone.
Make a wish from your heart for you and your families while making a difference for the Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN). Buy a Wish Dumpling sachet for $5 and hang your wishes on our Wishing Wall. All proceeds will be donated to APSN, and donors stand to win a 2D1N staycation package by Amara Singapore and Dorsett Singapore.
In conjunction with the Dragon Boat Festival, Chinatown Singapore has organised a special hands- on Hainanese Bak Chang workshop, where participants can learn the art of making Hainanese rice dumplings and assemble a pyramid-shaped Hainanese rice dumplings filled with savoury meat, mushrooms, chestnuts and other flavourful ingredients.
Alternatively, step into a holistic world where ancient wisdom meets modern wellness with the A Sip of Heritage with Rice Wines workshop, where you can explore the traditional Chinese medicine benefits of rice wine, savour the different varieties of rice wine, and learn how to make sweet, fermented rice wine with glutinous rice balls.
Executive Director of the Chinatown Business Association, Ms Lim Yick Suan shared, “We are pleased to bring the celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival to Chinatown Singapore. The festival, which is part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, has been celebrated by Chinese all over the world for over two millenniums. Through the exciting line-up of programmes and activities that we have planned for visitors, we hope to preserve our heritage, share the stories and traditions with visitors to Chinatown Singapore, while doing good for the community.”
Fans of Chinese cultural performances can also look forward to Lion Dance, Dragon Dance, Guzheng and Cantonese Opera performances.
Admission to the Dragon Boat Festival is free. Tickets for selected workshops can be purchased from https://peatix.com/group/7133051. To find out more, visit the website www.chinatown.sg for more information.
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