Mid Autumn Festival Celebration

After the Chinese’s ‘Hungry Ghost Festival’ in Chinese lunar 7th month, the ‘Mid Autumn Festival’ “中秋节”, also known as the Moon Festival is on the way…..It fall on 8th month of Chinese lunar calendar, the actual day for the celebration in this year was 14 Sep 2008 Sunday, which is 15th day 8th month of Chinese lunar calendar.

I would say the ‘Hungry Ghost Festival’ is more on religion related event, and ‘Mid Autumn Festival’ is more on the Chinese ancient legend related event. Both events having great entertainment elements: I mean during ‘Hungry Ghost Festival’ other then praying and burning the ‘hell-money’ to the pasted away relatives and related ghost and related ‘officers from hell’, the main entertainment for everyone was the ‘Getai’ show, whether you are religious or free thinker, you can watch the show. In ‘Mid Autumn Festival Celebration’, it was involved children’s entertainment: which it touring around in the dark night with carrying a lantern! That was one of my favorite activities! I remember 20-30 years ago during my young age, the place I stay was not so developed, hence many place surround my house was quiet dark at night; with groups of friends who carrying the lanterns, we had brighten where the places we passing by! That was great fun of that!

With the highly developed city today, if you live in the city, you hardly find such dark place to see the power of the light from the little candles from your lantern, unless you stay near the forest or the place which far from the city.

That was the entertainment for adult, which is the tasting of the moon cake during this event. You can see so many advertisements about moon cake made from various famous restaurant, cake shops, and hotels. It was really competitive in selling moon cakes since 1st Sep, because the actual day for celebration was at 14th Sept, means after 14 Sept or even earlier, not much people will like to buy it due to the season had past. More and more tasted moon cake had been created: durian tasted, chocolate tasted….it even having moon cake feed with ice-creams! I prefer the traditional tasted which filled with lotus seeds.

National Day Celebration cum Town Day at Hougang

Engaged by an event company for National Day cum Town Day at Hougang Ave 10, that was a big event! Doing open air caricature for event, you must always prepare to handle the public crowd, because public was not belonging any companies, so they could be demand the free drawing event you told them the free caricature service was closed upon your working schedule. Today’s crowd quiet ok for me.I ever came across few times that some people wanted to beat me due to unable to get the free drawing! So after such inccidents, I always tell the crowd in the last 30minutes in advance I will close at what time and within 30minutes I only can draw up to how many persons in then crowd. Maybe such event had been running almost 18 years long as my working experience, lost people had been getting free caricature during those years, mostly are more polite and behave themselves from recent years.

Smashed BMW, Untittled

An event at Marina Mandarin Hotel

Did a pre-event for NTUC-ARU dinner and dance at Marina Mandarin Hotel, this time I am not in-charge caricature drawing, I in-charge fortune telling item, as a palmist; because the theme is Shanghai Night.I am a professional palmist and face reader, not just because of the theme made me swop from a caricaturist to a palmist. I had studied related metaphysics from different masters and spent lots courses fees..

I like Marina Mandarin Hotel’s building design, and the interior of it as well.

For the pre-event activities, other then my palm reading, there also having chinese calligraphy on chinese fan by My Yung Cheong Thye, one of the famous and professional locqal calligrapher in Singapore, and also having ‘dragon bead candy’, chinese flour doll figurine making demo, airbrush fake tattto and glamour shoots around.

Getai, an entertainment during Chinese LUnar 7th month

Today, Chinese Lunar month’s last day of 7th month, you still able to see the Getai’ street concert show, not the last day of it nuy is second last day having chance to see it, maybe thet related organisation made it last day’s performance on Sunday, that’s why tomorrow we still got chance to see it.

The programme of the concert other than singer’s performance, it also having some jokes present by the emcee with the singers, this yest we also can see a ‘Chinese Opera Mask Changing’ “变脸” perfomance in some Getai, as long the organiser arranged the budget for it, because it is an expensive item to hire a Mask Changing Artist in an event. There only few Chinese Opera Mask Changing artist in Singapore, most of them are from china.
The attraction of the Getai is usually can see many singers in fancy costume especially the female singers, they apperaence are the main soul of the Getai show. The Getai ever getting ‘Old’ because after many years performance in chinese lunar 7th month, the song always old song, the singers mostly older age etc..May be due to the movie “881” and “12 Lotus” given a new life of the Getai, attracted much more youger group audiences. You also can see more younger singers in the Getai show now.I like ‘宝贝姐妹’(Bao Bei sisters, I just translated it direct, did not know their english team name) because they are sween and sexy! They even have fan to do make up and hleping them during the Getai show!

Getai - The Street Concert during ‘Hungry Ghost Festival’

Getai, is a Chinese term ‘歌台’ which mean street concert. That is one of the activities to entertain the god and related officer from hell and the people who donate the money for the ‘Hungry Ghost Festival’ celebration as in Chinese religion; it fall in Chinese lunar year’s 7th month.

Getai’s activities similar to street concert’s productions which having tentage, stage and backdrop set-up, live bands and the main soul of the event – the emcee and the singers. It’s crowd pulling events, because it’s entertaining, which attract many old folks; basically since is an religions related activities, it definitely lots senior people involved.

Hungry Ghost Festival celebration and the entertainment could be in traditional Chinese puppet show but getai is the most welcome event.

Nowadays, the singers whose sang the songs were came from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia & China etc. They might sing the song in varieties of dialects including Malay song, changing their flamboyant costumes a few times during their performance.
Xiaohei (real name is Raju Kumara) who came from Malaysia is one of the popular singer during the Getai event. Rawi Hamin also another popular singer, I met him few times in various events. Other famous local Getai artistes including Karen Lim, Nicole Lai...etc. Susie Wong should be also in the list if I am not wrong because I had came across Susie's pole dance performance photo in the Getai through the net. There also some young artistes which is polytechnic students, and 5-6 years old children appear in the Getai show.According the newspaper, their income was count in per song they sing, and they may be running around to many Getai in different places within one night; of course not everyday having that much of the street concert during the whole Chinese lunar 7th month; anywhere, seems their income not bad as well, but as an entertainer’s view, it is a seasonal jobs, hence nothing to be jealous about their income.

It does have 2 movies about the Getai story which is “881” and “12 Lotus” which produced by Singapore, directed by Director Royston Tan.That was very interesting infos and photos in the blog of the director Ryston Tan.
You still got time to catch the Getai Live show as per www.stomp.com.sg ‘s Getai A gogo schedule:
27 Aug Wednesday (Chinese lunar calander : 27th day of the 7th month)
Blk 602, Yishun Opposite Polyclinic
Geylang Lorong 1
Changi Beach
Near Queens Street (In front of OG)
Blk 3018 Bedok North Street 5, East Link Light Industrial Factory
(Starts at 7pm - 22 Singers)

28 Aug Thursday (Chinese lunar calander : 28th day of the 7th month)
Blk 171, Stirling Road
Red Hill Leng Kee Car Mart
Yishun 924 Central 1

29 Aug Friday (Chinese lunar calander : 29th day of the 7th month)
Blk 280, Yishun Avenue 7
Blk 1 Lor Liew Lian

30 Aug Saturday (Chinese lunar calander : 31st day of the no.7th month)
Blk 77, Whampoa Market
Blk 45, Owen Road

31 Aug Sunday (Chinese lunar calander : 1st day of the.8th month)
Blk 134, Jalan Bukit Merah
Blk 77, Whampoa Market

Caricature of Singapore River

Did an event at Maybank Tower and that was great I have chance again to work in a high floor building and able to have a good view of Singapore River and the city view. I taken these photos inside the building using my handphone.That was a fireworks show at 9pm, all the guests was very enjoy viewing the fireworks from the building. I left the building and took some photos at the ground floor, next to The Fullerton Hotel. The fireworks had attracted many pedestrian and people stopped their steps and taking the photos of the firework, it was one interesting day!