Join us at the Wan Qing Mid-Autumn Festival 2022 for a host of exciting activities to celebrate Chinese arts, culture, and heritage!
Discover the story and traditions behind mid-autumn festival, one of the oldest cultural festivals in the world, and revel in the rich historical and cultural significance of the festival with a line-up of live performances, cultural workshops, heritage walking tours, storytelling sessions, and more during the weekend open house.
From 16 August - 25 September 2022
Onsite Programmes
Lawn Installation: Celestial Bodies （星球宝宝）
Date: 16 August – 25 Sep 2022
Time: 10am – 9pm daily
Admission: Free
Produced by Taiwan’s Kai 3D Art Studio and in collaboration with the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, Celestial Bodies is an outdoor installation comprising spherical lanterns featuring five of the artist’s characters: Moon, Earth, Sun, Saturn, and Mercury. The installation pays tribute to the moon which is at its brightest and roundest on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Surrounded by other planets, Celestial Bodies symbolises the joyous union of family and friends, and represents the collective wish of Singaporeans to be able to get together and reunite with our loved ones, both locally and overseas, during this period when the COVID-19 safe management measures are eased. It will be on display on the lawn of the Memorial Hall from 16 August to 25 September, 10am to 9pm daily.
On 3 & 4 Sep 2022 only
Workshops
Chinese Opera Workshop for Children
(Supported by Nam Hwa Opera 南华潮剧社)
Date: 4 Sep 2022
Time: 1.30pm – 3pm, 3.30pm - 5pm
Admission: $20 per pax; purchase tickets HERE
Recommended for children aged 6 and above. Children aged 5 years old and below will not be permitted. This is a children-only workshop. The workshop will be conducted in Mandarin.
Follow Chang’e into the world of opera and join us in learning more about Chinese opera! Explore classic opera pieces with Chinese mythical characters and get to know more about Chang’e’s gracefulness and Nezha’s agility while having fun with lantern riddles this Mid-Autumn Festival!
Woodblock Printing Workshop
Date: 3 Sep 2022
Time: 10.30am – 12pm
Admission: $15 per pax; purchase tickets
HERE
Recommended for participants 12 years old and above. Children aged 11 years old and below will not be permitted. The workshop will be conducted in English.
Get inked in the upcoming Woodblock Printing Workshop! Apart from understanding the process and the history of letterpress printing in Singapore, participants will get a hands-on experience using the traditional equipment of letterpress printing like the baren to ink and print their block prints. Participants can also choose from a variety of designs to ink print their wood blocks, including using the customised printing kits provided.
About the Facilitator
Sun Yao Yu is a traditional letterpress printer and the founder of Typesettingsg. What started off as a personal passion project is now an education setup that aims to promote and preserve traditional letterpress printing, focussing on handset types for printing – which is the underlying foundation for typography and graphic design. Yao Yu spends his time organising hands-on creative printing workshops and giving talks on the history of the letterpress.
“Meet My Unusual Family” Interactive Storytelling & Workshop （不怪的“怪”兽）
(Presented by The Theatre Practice 实践剧场)
Date: 3 Sep 2022
Time: 1.30pm – 3pm & 4.30pm – 6pm
Admission: $20 per pax; purchase tickets via HERE
Recommended for children aged 4 to 8 years old. This storytelling and workshop session is conducted in Mandarin.
Guai Guai, a magical monster who is always teased by her family of magical monsters, needs your help to find her special monster powers!
Join us for a 90 mins fun-filled and tactile in-person experience – where children will learn more about self-discovery and acceptance through interactive storytelling, as well as a hands-on arts and craft session. The session is conducted in Mandarin, making this a great way to engage your child in Chinese language and culture.
Free Events
Public Talk – The Qixi Festival: A Forgotten Love Story (只羡鸳鸯不羡仙——本地从前的七姐诞)
Date: 4 Sep 2022
Time: 10am – 11.30am
Admission: Free; limited spaces available, on a first-come, first-served basis.
The talk will be conducted in Mandarin.
How can the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl (牛郎织女) reunite when they are separated by over 16 light years? The famous poet Du Fu of the Tang dynasty even wrote a poem to lament the cruel separation of these tragic lovers. The Chinese believe that the lovers meet once a year during the qixi (七夕) festival (also known as the Double Seventh Festival). This talk will share more about the origins of the qixi festival and its decline in popularity.
About the Speaker
About a decade ago, Lee Kok Leong begun engaging in freelance heritage research with a strong interest in connecting the immigrant history between Singapore and China. He has published several books documenting the immigrants’ history in Singapore. His books have been nominated for the Singapore Literature Prize and he is also the consultant and curator for several heritage galleries.
Live on the Lawn: Lantern Riddles Guessing
(Supported by Riddle Association (Singapore))
Date: 3 Sep 2022
Time: 5pm – 6pm
Admission: Free
Learn tips for solving Chinese lantern riddles with riddle masters this Mid-Autumn Festival. Join Riddle Association as they conduct a traditional riddle solving session at the Memorial Hall lawn. Get your hands on the Memorial Hall’s merchandise with each correct answer.
More Chinese lantern riddles will be up at the Memorial Hall’s Veranda for you to solve from 3 – 25 September 2022. Get 10 correct answers to exchange for more Memorial Hall’s merchandise!
Live on the Lawn: Performances by The Joyful Voices and Mr Bottle Magic Show
Date: 4 Sep 2022
Time: 6pm – 7pm
Admission: Free
Relax on our lawn as you enjoy thematic tunes put up by The Joyful Voices and a dazzling magic show by Mr Bottle. The Joyful Voices is an independent community choir comprising singers from different families coming together to share their passion for music. With more than 20 years of experience performing, Mr Bottle’s magic show is entertaining for all ages as he fascinates kids and intrigue the adults with his acts.
Drop-in Craft Station: Mid-Autumn Inspired Crafts
Date: 3 & 4 Sep 2022
Time: 11am–6pm
Admission: Free
What is Mid-Autumn without lanterns and mooncakes? Get creative as you create your own clay mooncake and mini rabbit origami lantern at our drop-in craft station.
Storytelling Session: Tales of Mid-Autumn Festival
(Supported by Speak Good English Movement and Speak Mandarin Campaign)
Date: 3 Sep 2022 (Chinese), 4 Sep 2022 (English)
Time: 11.30am – 12.30pm, 2pm – 3pm
Admission: Free; limited spaces available, on a first-come, first-served basis
Be swept away this weekend with enthralling tales through our popular storytelling sessions! Discover the legends and myths behind well-loved Chinese stories as local authors and veteran storytellers bring you on a literary adventure.
Trails & Guided Tours
Touring Temples: Legends and Artforms of Door Gods
Date: 3 & 4 Sep 2022
Time: 10am – 1pm
Admission: $20.00 per pax; purchase tickets via Peatix HERE
Tour will be conducted in English.
An integral part of traditional Chinese culture, the figures known traditionally as “door gods” can be seen on the double doors of homes, temples, and other buildings. Join us on this exclusive tour as we ride a bus around Singapore and explore three local Chinese temples (Hong San See, Wak Hai Cheng Bio, and Thian Hock Keng Temple) to see the door gods found within them and learn more about the legends and artforms behind these door gods.
Balestier Heritage Food Trail
Date: 3 Sep 2022
Time: 10.30am – 11.30am (English); 11.30am – 12.30pm (Chinese)
Admission: $12.00 per pax; purchase tickets via Peatix HERE
Go on a gastronomic journey around Balestier with our ever-popular Balestier Heritage Food Trail! Delve into the architectural and cultural development of Balestier as you visit and sample bites from heritage shops such as Lam Yeo Coffee Powder Factory and Sweetlands Confectionary and Bakery and discover the rich food history behind these places.
Special Exhibition Guided Tour
Date: 3 & 4 Sep 2022
Time: 10.30am – 11.30am (Chinese), 1.30pm – 2.30pm (English)
Admission: Free; limited spaces available
Delve into the world of nian hua, woodblock prints used in the past to decorate Chinese homes for the Lunar New Year with a guided tour of our Nian Hua: Of Deities, Guardians and Auspicious Art special exhibition.
Permanent Galleries Guided Tour
Date: 3 & 4 Sep 2022
Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm (Chinese), 3pm – 4pm (English)
Admission: Free; limited spaces available
Join us for a guided tour of Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall and hear the stories behind this century-old villa that trace Dr Sun Yat Sen’s revolutionary activities in Southeast Asia. Gain valuable insights on the impact of the 1911 Revolution on Singapore, as well as Singapore’s contributions to the Revolution.