Island music and memories for HeritageFest 2014

Alice Chia Channel NewsAsia 26 Jun 14;

SINGAPORE: Many who are tired of the hustle and bustle of city life here may turn to Singapore's outlying islands for a getaway, but not all are aware of the rich culture and history behind them.

This year's Singapore HeritageFest aims to change that: Singapore's numerous outlying islands are the subject of this year's festival. The event, which takes place from July 18 to 27, will introduce visitors to the idea of Singapore as a nation of islands, and not just an island-nation.

Singapore was once made up of over 70 islands, but today has just 40, with several merged and others transformed into landfills and tourist attractions. Organisers hope the festival will help people discover lesser-known tales of Singapore's trading past as well. The event will highlight the role Singapore's migrant forefathers played in the country's development, as well as the traditions brought with them.

Participants can expect a variety of activities, including boat excursions to lighthouses and outlying islands.

Visitors to Kusu Island will be treated to a performance from the Siong Leng Musical Association. It will perform a rendition of nanyin, one of the oldest existing musical styles of China that is usually only performed during the ninth lunar month at the island's Tua Pek Kong temple.

The Association has been performing nanyin, or songs from the South, at the temple for the past 40 years, and it hopes to introduce this traditional art form to more people with special performances during this year's HeritageFest.

"When you talk about nanyin, people will actually think that it's a slow and boring kind of music," said Siong Leng member Chelsea Tan. "We wanted to change the conception that nanyin is more for senior citizens. We wanted to show them that young people do play nanyin as well, and it can also be interesting for us when we learn nanyin."

Participants can also hop on boat rides to other islands, such as St John's, where they will learn about its history as a former quarantine site. Other activities include tours to Raffles Lighthouse, which are rare as visits are restricted.

Away from these islands, activities and exhibitions will take place across 11 festival hubs, including malls and the National Museum of Singapore, featuring topics such as traditional healing practices and motor racing.

The HeritageFest is now into its eleventh year, and the National Heritage Board says it has seen more partners coming on board. Over 40 community groups, individuals and partners have contributed to the line-up.

"If people come on board, they do more. With more programmes, more people can get involved," said festival director Angelita Teo. "Last year we had more than 40 programmes, this year we have more than 60. So that growth is something that we are working hard on, to encourage more people to come on board."

Activities are free and the public can sign up for them from next month. The National Heritage Board hopes to attract 1.3 million visitors to the festival. More information can be found at the HeritageFest website. http://www.heritagefest.org.sg/

- CNA/ly


Island delights at S’pore Heritage Fest 2014
Laetitia Wong Today Online 27 Jun 14;

SINGAPORE — Those who fancy a boat trip to the Republic’s surrounding islands will be able to do so at this year’s Singapore Heritage Fest, which kicks off on July 18.

Excursions to St John’s, Lazarus and Seringat islands are among the highlights of this year’s edition, themed Our Islands, Our Home. There will also be trips to Kusu Island as well as one dedicated to Singapore’s early lighthouses, which date back to the 19th century.

Organised by the National Heritage Board, the festival will be spread across more than 11 festival hubs in malls, including nex, Changi City Point and Century Square, and will feature 60 programmes.

While it is open to those of all ages, organisers have observed notable growth in participation among youth. Said this year’s festival director Angelita Teo, director of the National Museum of Singapore: “I used to think the younger generation weren’t interested in our heritage, but you’ll be surprised! Many of these initiatives are from young people.”

She added: “I think we’re going through a point in the nation where we are trying to find out who we are as Singaporeans ... with the world being so globalised, the youth will ask themselves, ‘So what makes me special?’”

Other highlights include a performance of Nanyin music by the Siong Leng Musical Association on Kusu Island.

Singapore Heritage Fest 2014 runs till July 27. Registration for events starts on July 1. For more information, visit http://www.heritagefest.sg.

Heritage Fest to focus on our isles
Gurveen Kaur My Paper AsiaOne 27 Jun 14;

SINGAPORE - Sail back in time to explore Singapore's lesser-known islands and lighthouses to better understand the country's trading past.

That is the aim of this year's Singapore HeritageFest, which will feature boat excursions to three southern islands and even take visitors to Raffles Lighthouse, which has stood tall on Pulau Satumu since 1885.

The lighthouse tour, the festival's first, will be conducted for two days during the 10-day festival, where participants will tour the lighthouse and climb some 90 steps to the top of the tower.

On the way to Raffles Lighthouse, participants will sail by the Sultan Shoal Lighthouse, located near Jurong Island.

This year's festival, to be held from July 18 to 27, will focus on Singapore's island heritage, with the theme Our Islands, Our Home.

Once home to over 70 islands, "Singapore is not just an island nation, but also a nation of islands", said Marcus Ng, one of the curators behind the exhibition Balik Pulau: Stories From Singapore's Islands at the National Museum of Singapore.

Today, about 40 islands remain, thanks to land reclamation.

Beyond popular islands like Pulau Ubin, the festival will cover lesser-known ones, like former quarantine centre St John's Island, as well as Lazarus and Seringat Islands, which house a coastal landscape and a "secret" swimming cove.

Those who do not want to wet their feet can visit the 11 Festival Hubs located at malls islandwide that touch on the heritage brought to the islands by our forefathers, such as Singapore's iconic shophouses and the story behind their architecture.

There will also be over 60 programmes during the festival, including food and heritage trails in Balestier and a performance of Nanyin, an ancient Chinese musical art form also known as "music of the south", on Kusu Island.

Administrative officer Low Qiu Ying, 25, said: "I have always wanted to visit St John's Island and find out more about its significance to Singapore's history, so the tour will be an ideal way to not only explore the island, but two others as well."

Go island-hopping at this year's HeritageFest
Audrey Tan The Straits Times AsiaOne 29 Jun 14;

Visitors to next month's Singapore HeritageFest will get to sail back in time for a glimpse of the Republic's island history, and explore a lighthouse that is usually out of bounds.

They will get to see the former Fullerton Lighthouse from the bus, sail past the one on Sultan Shoal, near Jurong Island, and explore Raffles Lighthouse which dates back to 1885 and is on Pulau Satumu, Singapore's southern-most land possession.

Yesterday, the National Heritage Board, the body behind the event, gave details of the festival, which aims to intrigue visitors with "lesser- known tales of our trading past".

Besides conducting a lighthouse trail for the first time, this 11th edition of the yearly festival is focusing on Singapore's island heritage - another first.

A lesser-known fact about Singapore is that it was actually made up of not just one island, but more than 70 of them.

Some have been lost due to land reclamation, but visitors can still visit the tranquil St John's, Lazarus and Seringat islands, the religious Kusu Island, or Tanjong Rimau - a lesser known part of Sentosa - on three island-hopping excursions during the festival.

Themed Our Islands, Our Home, the festival, to be held from July 18 to 27, also hopes to help Singaporeans get in touch with their roots by showcasing the cultures and traditions of the migrants who settled here.

For instance, visitors can enjoy traditional performances, which include the lion dance or nanyin ("music of the south" in Chinese).

Originally from China's Fujian province, nanyin performances were popular with devotees visiting the temples on Kusu Island, south of Singapore, during the pilgrimage season in the 1970s.

The popularity of nanyin may have faded, but festival-goers will get to hear the music enjoyed by their forefathers.

"Usually, the nanyin performances are held only during the ninth lunar month at the Tua Pek Kong temple (on Kusu)," said Ms Celestina Wang, vice-chairman of Siong Leng Musical Association, which is putting up a nanyin performance on Kusu for the festival.

"But we feel that Singapore HeritageFest will be a good platform to showcase this traditional art form to the public," she added.

There will be more than 60 different programmes on the mainland and on the surrounding islands during next month's event.

Eleven festival hubs will also be set up at locations such as Century Square, Changi City Point and the National Museum of Singapore.

Visitors can learn more about Singapore's myths and legends and Peranakan culture through activities such as exhibitions, storytelling sessions and face and body art painting.

Festival director Angelita Teo was heartened by the growing number of past festival contributors coming back this year. "Their contributions will allow more people to understand our heritage," she said.

National University of Singapore business undergraduate Jason Ng, 24, said he was keen to attend this year's festival.

He said it is good to explore the islands during HeritageFest since there will be activities then. "It's a good opportunity for couples and families to bond," he said

Sign up from July 1 to join in the fun

LIGHTHOUSE TRAIL

When: July 19 and 20
Time: 7.30am to 12.30pm or 1.30pm to 6.30pm
Where: Meet at National Museum of Singapore (NMS) bus bay, Level 2. Register at www.heritagefest.sg from July 1. Each session is limited to 30 participants.

ISLAND-HOPPING TRAILS

A Night of Nanyin at Kusu
When: July 26
Time: 4pm to 9pm
Where: Meet at NMS bus bay, Level 2; Register at www.heritagefest.sg from July 1. Each session is limited to 100 participants.

Tanjong Rimau Walk, Sentosa
When: July 16
Time: 7am to 10.30am
Where: Meet at NMS bus bay, Level 2; Register at www.heritagefest.sg from July 1. Each session is limited to 30 participants.


Homes, Hills and Habitats: A Morning at St John's, Lazarus and Seringat
When: July 19 and 27
Time: 7am to 1pm
Where: Meet at NMS bus bay, Level 2; Register at www.heritagefest.sg from July 1. Each session is limited to 30 participants.


OTHER ACTIVITIES

Pulau Ubin on Film: A Screening of Moving Gods
When: July 20
Time: 4pm to 6pm
Where: NMS Gallery Theatre, Basement; Register at www.heritagefest.sg from July 1. First come, first served for up to 245 people.

The City in Bukit Brown Walk
When: July 20 and 27
Time: 8.30am to noon
Where: Meet at NMS bus bay, Level 2; Register at www.heritagefest.sg from July 1. First come, first served for up to 25 people per session.

Admission is free for all events, but age and other restrictions might apply.

For more information, go to the www.heritagefest.sg website.

Three Singapore lighthouses soon to be opened to the public
Tung Shi Yun The Straits Times AsiaOne 28 Jun 14;

Lighthouses have been faithfully serving as beacons of light since the 1900s, guiding ships and mariners eager to anchor at Singapore's harbours.

Starting next month, visitors will get the opportunity to explore and learn about some of Singapore's historic lighthouses in the Lighthouse Trail, organised by the National Heritage Board (NHB) as part of this year's Singapore HeritageFest. For the first time, the lighthouses will be open to the public for viewing.

We look back at the three lighthouses featured in the upcoming trail.

1) Raffles Lighthouse

The Raffles Lighthouse was named after, and dedicated to the memory of, Sir Stamford Raffles, who founded Singapore in 1819. It is located on Pulau Satumu, formerly known as Coney Island, and is the southernmost islet of SIngapore. Standing 23km southwest of Singapore, it is on the South Channel Sea passage and marks the western entrance to the Singapore Strait.

On May 24, 1854, the Raffles Lighthouse Foundation Stone and the Raffles Lighthouse Memorial Tablet were laid by William J. Butterworth, governor of the Straits Settlements. After a masonic ceremony and a celebration with much military fanfare, building started with the help of Indian convicts and other labourers, who served as stone-cutters, blasters and labourers. The lighthouse began operations on Dec 1, 1855 and is still in operation today.

Designed by John Bennet, a civil and mechanical engineer, the structure is a round granite tower with a lantern and gallery attached to a two-storey keeper's house. The entire structure is painted in white and stands a mere 9.1m above sea level. Mr. Syed Hassan, who currently resides in the tower and helps to maintain it, is the oldest lighthouse keeper in Singapore.

The lighthouse is accessible only by boat, and visitors are only allowed to view it from a distance due to an exclusion zone that surrounds the tower. It will, however, soon be open to the public as part of NHB's Lighthouse Trail.

2) Sultan Shoal Lighthouse

The Sultan Shoal Lighthouse was built in 1895, and is located on the island of Selat Jurong, in the Western Anchorage of Singapore. The tower is painted white and the roof of the keeper's house is painted red. It has a mix of Oriental and Victorian design, oddly resembling a two-storey bungalow growing out of the sea.

The lighthouse was one of the key beacons that guided ships approaching Singapore from the West at a time when pirate attacks were rife. There were two loaded rifles with fixed bayonets as well as three swords in the keeper's office for resisting pirate attacks in its early days. The tower was rebuilt in 1931 to accommodate the installation of more modern lighting equipment.

The lighthouse was automated in 1984 and is currently unmanned.

3) Fullerton Lighthouse

The now-decommissioned Fullerton Lighthouse is situated atop a small white concrete structure on the roof of the Fullerton building. Standing 47.9m above sea level, it is visible to ships 48.3km away.

In 1958, the S$33,000 structure took over the defunct 103-year-old Fort Canning Lighthouse in guiding ships and mariners into the harbour. But its function was hampered in 1980 by the construction of towering buildings at Marina Centre on reclaimed land and the strong lighting background at the waterfront. Its function was taken over by the Bedok Lighthouse, located on top of a block of flats in Marine Parade (now atop Lagoon View condominium in Bedok) and which started operations in 1978.

The Fullerton Lighthouse was acquired by the then Sentosa Martime Museum as a working exhibit. It has since moved to a new location as an artifact near Harbourfront Towers opposite Sentosa.

Heritage Fest to focus on our isles
Gurveen Kaur My Paper AsiaOne 27 Jun 14;

SINGAPORE - Sail back in time to explore Singapore's lesser-known islands and lighthouses to better understand the country's trading past.

That is the aim of this year's Singapore HeritageFest, which will feature boat excursions to three southern islands and even take visitors to Raffles Lighthouse, which has stood tall on Pulau Satumu since 1885.

The lighthouse tour, the festival's first, will be conducted for two days during the 10-day festival, where participants will tour the lighthouse and climb some 90 steps to the top of the tower.

On the way to Raffles Lighthouse, participants will sail by the Sultan Shoal Lighthouse, located near Jurong Island.

This year's festival, to be held from July 18 to 27, will focus on Singapore's island heritage, with the theme Our Islands, Our Home.

Once home to over 70 islands, "Singapore is not just an island nation, but also a nation of islands", said Marcus Ng, one of the curators behind the exhibition Balik Pulau: Stories From Singapore's Islands at the National Museum of Singapore.

Today, about 40 islands remain, thanks to land reclamation.

Beyond popular islands like Pulau Ubin, the festival will cover lesser-known ones, like former quarantine centre St John's Island, as well as Lazarus and Seringat Islands, which house a coastal landscape and a "secret" swimming cove.

Those who do not want to wet their feet can visit the 11 Festival Hubs located at malls islandwide that touch on the heritage brought to the islands by our forefathers, such as Singapore's iconic shophouses and the story behind their architecture.

There will also be over 60 programmes during the festival, including food and heritage trails in Balestier and a performance of Nanyin, an ancient Chinese musical art form also known as "music of the south", on Kusu Island.

Administrative officer Low Qiu Ying, 25, said: "I have always wanted to visit St John's Island and find out more about its significance to Singapore's history, so the tour will be an ideal way to not only explore the island, but two others as well."