Don’t rain on Chingay parade
March 11, 2007 | 12:00am
If you think Singapore doesn’t know how to party, then you didn’t see them throw a ball at this year’s Chingay Parade of Dreams. The parade, held the weekend after the Chinese New Year celebrations, marked its 35th anniversary last Feb. 24, and the ensuing street party proved to be the biggest in Chingay’s history.
Picture this: A total of 17 floats and 26 performances, including lion dances, hip-hop performances, acrobatics, and folk dances. Some 2,300 local performers and 800 foreign participants from 12 countries, from Angola to the United States. The length of Orchard Road, from Ngee Ann City to Orchard Plaza, a stretch totaling 1.2 kilometers, was closed to traffic from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. And if you think it was a one-off thing, you’re dead wrong. The parade was held for two consecutive nights to give the public a chance to enjoy the spectacle, not to mention a full dress rehearsal held last Feb. 10 to give the organizers a chance to fine-tune the celebrations.
A light drizzle on the afternoon of Feb. 24 did not dampen the crowd’s mood. As soon as the rain stopped at around 5 p.m., the length of the sidewalk of Orchard Road started to fill up with spectators, as parade participants took their cues for the pre-parade and the parade proper. The heavens cleared, and when the parade rolled down at 8 p.m., it was a 90-minute nonstop spectacle that had the crowds cheering wildly in joy. Truly a sight to see!
Here are some fun facts about Singapore’s annual Chingay festival.
• It takes parade organizer People’s Association 11 months to plan for the year’s parade. Planning for next year’s parade starts next month.
• The different parade floats weigh anywhere from 1,200 kilos to 2,000 kilos depending on their size and the materials used. This year, pride of place goes to the Kronos float from the National University of Singapore, which was made solely from metal junk and other industrial discards. The float in the form of a time-traveling train won the best float in the annual NUS Rag and Flag 2006.
• Floats cost anywhere from S$50,000 to S$100,000, depending on their size and design. All floats are sponsored by various companies or organizations.
• Taking a cue from the annual Mardi Gras celebration in Rio de Janeiro, tickets for the viewing stands located strategically along the length of Orchard Road were made available to the public. Each seat cost S$45. They were all sold out.
And how much did all this cost? Says Chingay executive committee chairman Nah Juay Hng, "We do not wish to fix a price as there is a lot of volunteer work and community self-contribution involved."
The Chingay parade is not original to Singapore. It was started by the Straits-born Chinese, descendants of immigrants from Hokkien, in Penang, Malaysia as a parade of masks and costumes. It spread throughout parts of Malaysia in the early 20th century. The practice was eventually discontinued with the outbreak of World War II.
At its height, the Chingay parades in Malaysia featured celebrations with flags and lanterns. Eventually, the development of motorized floats revolutionized the event. There were also all kinds of lion and dragon dances, and stilt walkers, all accompanied by the noisy clash of cymbals, gongs and drums.
The Chingay parade started in Singapore in 1973 as a way of adding merriment to the Chinese New Year celebrations. Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew banned the use of firecrackers after a fatal explosion during the 1972 Chinese New Year event killed two. To make up for the lack of festive spirit, the People’s Association and the Singapore Pugilistic Federation, upon Lee’s suggestion, mounted the first parade.
The first parade was a modest one with 2,000 participants of stilt-walkers, big-headed dolls, pugilistic groups, mini operas, as well as lion and dragon dancers and flag bearers balancing colorful triangular flags, as in the Chingay festival in Penang.
For over a decade, Chingay toured Singapore’s heartland. In 1985, Orchard Road became its permanent venue, and since then it has attracted tourists and Singaporeans alike to watch its brilliant display. In 1990, Chingay took a turn for the better. To mark its 25th year, the parade was moved from daytime to nighttime, with winking lights, colorful floats and sequined costumes adding sparkle to the event. To mark the millennium, Chingay 2000 was held in front of City Hall.
Through the years, Chingay transformed into a multi-cultural event, with Malay influences, including a wedding, and Indian music becoming part of the parade in 1976. In 2000 and 2001, groups from faraway Tahiti, Ghana, Brazil and Slovenia joined the parade. This year, foreign participants came from Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Angola, Sri Lanka, Myanmar Indonesia, Ireland, China and South Africa. Only the Philippines with its many vibrant street dancers is missing. More than that, 12 P65 Members of Parliament, MPs who were born in 1965 when Singa-pore gained Inde-pendence, joined the parade, per-forming alongside 300 hip-hop dancers.
So, if you wanna party, then party in style in Singapore at next year’s Chingay celebrations. It’s worth the trip!
Picture this: A total of 17 floats and 26 performances, including lion dances, hip-hop performances, acrobatics, and folk dances. Some 2,300 local performers and 800 foreign participants from 12 countries, from Angola to the United States. The length of Orchard Road, from Ngee Ann City to Orchard Plaza, a stretch totaling 1.2 kilometers, was closed to traffic from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. And if you think it was a one-off thing, you’re dead wrong. The parade was held for two consecutive nights to give the public a chance to enjoy the spectacle, not to mention a full dress rehearsal held last Feb. 10 to give the organizers a chance to fine-tune the celebrations.
A light drizzle on the afternoon of Feb. 24 did not dampen the crowd’s mood. As soon as the rain stopped at around 5 p.m., the length of the sidewalk of Orchard Road started to fill up with spectators, as parade participants took their cues for the pre-parade and the parade proper. The heavens cleared, and when the parade rolled down at 8 p.m., it was a 90-minute nonstop spectacle that had the crowds cheering wildly in joy. Truly a sight to see!
Here are some fun facts about Singapore’s annual Chingay festival.
• It takes parade organizer People’s Association 11 months to plan for the year’s parade. Planning for next year’s parade starts next month.
• The different parade floats weigh anywhere from 1,200 kilos to 2,000 kilos depending on their size and the materials used. This year, pride of place goes to the Kronos float from the National University of Singapore, which was made solely from metal junk and other industrial discards. The float in the form of a time-traveling train won the best float in the annual NUS Rag and Flag 2006.
• Floats cost anywhere from S$50,000 to S$100,000, depending on their size and design. All floats are sponsored by various companies or organizations.
• Taking a cue from the annual Mardi Gras celebration in Rio de Janeiro, tickets for the viewing stands located strategically along the length of Orchard Road were made available to the public. Each seat cost S$45. They were all sold out.
And how much did all this cost? Says Chingay executive committee chairman Nah Juay Hng, "We do not wish to fix a price as there is a lot of volunteer work and community self-contribution involved."
The Chingay parade is not original to Singapore. It was started by the Straits-born Chinese, descendants of immigrants from Hokkien, in Penang, Malaysia as a parade of masks and costumes. It spread throughout parts of Malaysia in the early 20th century. The practice was eventually discontinued with the outbreak of World War II.
At its height, the Chingay parades in Malaysia featured celebrations with flags and lanterns. Eventually, the development of motorized floats revolutionized the event. There were also all kinds of lion and dragon dances, and stilt walkers, all accompanied by the noisy clash of cymbals, gongs and drums.
The Chingay parade started in Singapore in 1973 as a way of adding merriment to the Chinese New Year celebrations. Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew banned the use of firecrackers after a fatal explosion during the 1972 Chinese New Year event killed two. To make up for the lack of festive spirit, the People’s Association and the Singapore Pugilistic Federation, upon Lee’s suggestion, mounted the first parade.
The first parade was a modest one with 2,000 participants of stilt-walkers, big-headed dolls, pugilistic groups, mini operas, as well as lion and dragon dancers and flag bearers balancing colorful triangular flags, as in the Chingay festival in Penang.
For over a decade, Chingay toured Singapore’s heartland. In 1985, Orchard Road became its permanent venue, and since then it has attracted tourists and Singaporeans alike to watch its brilliant display. In 1990, Chingay took a turn for the better. To mark its 25th year, the parade was moved from daytime to nighttime, with winking lights, colorful floats and sequined costumes adding sparkle to the event. To mark the millennium, Chingay 2000 was held in front of City Hall.
Through the years, Chingay transformed into a multi-cultural event, with Malay influences, including a wedding, and Indian music becoming part of the parade in 1976. In 2000 and 2001, groups from faraway Tahiti, Ghana, Brazil and Slovenia joined the parade. This year, foreign participants came from Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Angola, Sri Lanka, Myanmar Indonesia, Ireland, China and South Africa. Only the Philippines with its many vibrant street dancers is missing. More than that, 12 P65 Members of Parliament, MPs who were born in 1965 when Singa-pore gained Inde-pendence, joined the parade, per-forming alongside 300 hip-hop dancers.
So, if you wanna party, then party in style in Singapore at next year’s Chingay celebrations. It’s worth the trip!
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