The Five Footway Festival returns to Chinatown for its 3rd edition from 9 to 17 Mar 2024.
Venue: Chinatown, including Smith Street, Pagoda Street
Dates: 9 to 17 Mar 2024, 11 am - 9.30 pm
Admission: Free with paid workshops
The Five Footway Festival is returning to Chinatown Singapore from 9 to 17 Mar 2024, featuring many enjoyable and engaging activities suitable for visitors of all ages.
This will be the third edition of the festival and it is organised by the Chinatown Business Association in collaboration with programme partners. Families can expect various activities held at different parts of Chinatown - so here's what you can expect!
Discover the History of Chinatown
At the festival, families will gain a deeper understanding of Singapore’s largest conservation district, life along the Five Footway, clans and associations, as well as the traditional trades of Chinatown
Through the exhibition curated by Sun Yat-Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall and students from Hwa Chong Institution, visitors can better appreciate the way of life, values, and traditions of the immigrants that made their home at Singapore’s Chinatown and the the role that the five footway played across trades, clan, cultural, arts and entertainment activities.
- Five Footway Exhibition: 9,10, 16 & 17 Mar 2024, 11 am - 8 pm @ Smith Street
- Chinese Opera Roving Exhibition: 9,10, 16 & 17 Mar 2024, 11 am - 8 pm @ Smith Street
Immersive Tours
Festival-goers can also register to attend the “Conserved Buildings in Chinatown” walking trail by Do It SG, offering insights into the conservation of heritage buildings, the history of Chinatown’s oldest structures, and the activities that once adorned the Five Footways.
Delight in folktales at Joss Stick Storytelling and don’t miss “Tan Ah Huat in Chinatown,” a theatrical walking tour by Let’s Go Tour, transporting you to the early days of Singapore through the eyes of a Chinese immigrant from the 1920s.
- Joss Stick Storytelling: 9, 16 & 17 Mar, 3.30 pm - 5.30 pm @ Sago Street
- Tan Ah Huat in Chinatown: 10 Mar, 10 am - 11.30 pm
- Conserved Building in Chinatown: 17 Mar, 10 am - 11.30 pm
Cultural Performances
Previously known as Theatre Street or Hei Yuen Kai, families can head to Smith Street to catch culturally rich theatre acts, including Cantonese opera, Teochew opera, Peking opera, and the Hokkien puppet show.
Families can also learn traditional skills through various workshops and classes. Engage in the creation of a personalized idiom and slang coloring book in the “Colourful Dialects” workshop, or delve into the world of Peking Opera with Ping Sheh’s class and Yan Wong Cultural Troupe’s Kirin Workshop, providing a fun and inclusive experience with music, movements, and more.
- Colourful Dialects - Learning dialect idioms through a colouring activity: 9 Mar, 11 am - 12.30 pm
- Cantonese Singing Performance: 9 Mar, 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm | 17 Mar, 2 pm - 3 pm
- Cantonese Opera Performance: 9 Mar, 5.30 pm - 6.30 pm
- Melodies of Zheng on the Five Footway: 10 Mar, 1 pm - 1.40 pm | 16 Mar, 12 pm - 12.40 pm
- Teochew Opera Performance: 10 Mar, 5.30 pm - 6.30 pm
- Ping Sheh Open House: A Journey through Peking Opera: 16 Mar, 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm
- Hokkien Puppet Show: 16 Mar, 5.30 pm - 6.30 pm
- Kirin Dance Performance: 17 Mar, 5.30 pm - 6.30 pm
- Peking Opera Performance: 17 Mar, 5.30 pm - 6.30 pm
Heritage Flavours
The festival invites attendees to explore traditional dishes in Chinatown. Uncover the rich heritage of Hakka culture with Hakka Imperial Kitchen, offering insights into the making of Hakka rice wine and its exquisite flavors.
Attend a traditional omelette toast session, join the Traditional Wedding Talk with AMD Wedding, or enhance your culinary skills in Auntie Helen’s class, where she teaches Hainanese-style pineapple stir-fry pork rind and fried preserved beans with chicken.
Chef Colin from Let’s Go Tour will host Put Chai Ko Making Classes, an educational journey teaching patience and precision in mastering traditional techniques for red bean sweet rice pudding.
- Street Food: 9, 10, 16 & 17 Mar, 11 am - 9.30 pm
- Cantonese Put Chai Ko Making: 9 Mar, 2 pm - 6 pm
- Make your Good Old Omelette Toast: 10 Mar, 11 am - 12.30 pm
- Hakka Heritage in a Bottle: Unveiling Hakka Rice Wine: 16 Mar, 2 pm - 6 pm
- Cooking with Auntie Helen: 17 Mar, 1 pm - 6 pm
A Nostalgic Childhood
Come indulge in nostalgic childhood games on Pagoda Street, including can and ring toss, hoop wheeling, chapteh, zero point, and snakes and ladders. Families can also taste traditional Singaporean snacks and biscuits, including Kacang Putih, and be brought back in time.
Stilt-walking Samsui women and khaki shorts policemen will be present for photo opportunities. Other highlights include movie screenings, dragon dances, wushu performances, and more.
- Old School Games: 9, 10, 16 & 17 Mar, 11 am - 8 pm
- Movie Screenings: 10, 15, 16 & 17 Mar, 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm
- 10 Mar: Long Long Time Ago
- 15 Mar: Long Long Time Ago 2
- 16 Mar: Minions: The Rise of Gru
- 17 Mar: Ah Boys to Men 4
- Drum Performance: 9 Mar, 12 pm - 12.30 pm
- Mask Changing: 9 Mar, 12.30 pm - 1 pm
- Southern Lion Dance Performance: 9 Mar, 1.30 pm - 2 pm
- Dragon Dance & Wushu Performance: 10 Mar, 12 pm - 12.30 pm
- Lion Dance Performance: 16 Mar, 1.30 pm - 2 pm | 17 Mar, 12 pm - 12.30 pm
Admission
Admission to the Five Footway Festival is free with ticketed workshops. Get more details about the Five Footway Festival 2024 and get your tickets to selected workshops here.
