Chinatown Mid-Autumn Festival 2010

What is the event about

Mooncakes, bazaars and festivities

Most cultures have harvest festivals, and the Chinese are no exception. Based on Chinese legend and traditions brought to Singapore by our ancestors, the Mid-Autumn Festival is now celebrated yearly in August or September, to commemorate the selfless act of Chang' e, the wife of a merciless ruler.

In Singapore, celebrations go a step further with the Chinatown Mid-Autumn Festival. From September to October, Chinatown—the beating heart of the Chinese in Singapore—is transformed into an extravaganza of shimmering lights, themed lanterns, street bazaars, and stage shows, all to pay homage to a festival that reaches back into the very roots of Chinese culture.  

On 11 September, come join the rest of Singapore in witnessing the official light-up and opening ceremony. Chinatown will be enhanced with radiant festive lights and glimmering lanterns lining the streets, a display that will continue until 15 October. You can pick up a lantern for yourself at the street bazaar (8-22 September)—ranging from the traditional paper-and-candles type to plastic varieties modelled after cartoon characters. With a lantern in hand, join in the mass lantern walk on 18 September, which promises to turn the streets into a dazzling procession of lights. The street bazaar also offers a multitude of traditional goodies like pomelos, Chinese tea, and most of all, mooncakes. Staged shows will also be performed every night from 11-22 September, and remember to make way for dragon dancers offstage as they weave their way through a season of reunion and revelry.