Viewpoint - Let's Celebrate The End of CNY with a Chingay Bang

Recalling back when I was an audience in the Chingay Parade 2013, it was a memorable experience that I will be happy to share. Basically, the event I attended was at 23rd of February and it took place at the Formula One (F1) Marina Bay Street Circuit route. About Chingay, its name was created from its Hokkien dialect that defines “art of costume and masquerade” that celebrates the strength of the human spirit in the face of life’s challenges. It is like an annual street parade that will be held in Malaysia and Singapore in celebration with the birthdays of the Chinese deities or the procession of the Goddess of Mercy as part of traditional Chinese New Year. For every year, there will be a suitable theme for the parade. This year, it is themed ‘Fire in Snow’. It presents fire as a symbol of resilience, bravery, perseverance, passion and determination. Also, snow symbolises challenges and hardships so to overcome the fire’s lights of hope.

My siblings and I settled down at 7:30pm with our snacks and drinks we bought in Raffles City. I observed that majority of the audiences in different race has get on their spot as well. Soon after, the parade starts at 8pm with the emcees’ introduction and brief explanation about Chingay and its history followed by the arrival of VIPs including Singapore’s current president, Mr Tony Tan with his wife, Mdm Mary Chee. Next, the emcees tried testing the crowd with what we called the ‘Kallang Wave’. “Whoa!” I can literally see the wave flowing from one end of the sector to the other end in seconds. Personally, I think that it is an appropriate thing to test the crowd as you will see the obvious impact. Next, the atmosphere was starting to get overwhelmed as 1,000 burning used woks and pots started to light-up the entire lane without the spotlights on. Later, large groups of performers in their specific cultural costumes started to invade the F1 pit lane with excitement. The audiences were holding onto their ‘Pom Poms’ and blowing their given whistles to welcome the performers. The motivators were like cheering the audiences on and ‘screaming their lungs out’. The cheer begins like “Chingay, Chingay, we are one! People, people, we are one! Parade, parade, we are one! Singapore, Singapore, we are one!” It keeps all of our excitement pumped up.

I observed that the performers are from different respective organisation and association. Just one organisation, we can assume that there will be a handful of performers. Under different organisation, we will see many cultural costume designs and dance steps. In fact, the six-part segment will involve approximately 10,000 performers from 120 organisations. When the performers from different organisations were all dancing and grooving along to the harmonious songs, it was absolutely colourful. That is the unique thing of the parade! The colours, designs, decorations and costumes totally mesmerized us. In addition, there was decorative moving ‘hua che’. It is mainly a moving car in different shapes that has LED lights wrapped around it. Also, the ‘hua che’ is big enough to occupy a small group of people onto it while it’s moving along the F1 pit lane. The spectacular skyline with the Singapore Flyer can’t stop the audiences from snapping pictures of it in conjunction to the parade. Many of us were tuning in to the songs with the performances; it’s more than just a parade. It’s more like witnessing a combination of party, skit and parade.

At the end of the parade, we witness SNOW as the theme for 2013 is ‘Fire in Snow’. It was an extraordinary sight as the past few years; the theme does not have any snow in the parade. It will be one of the unusual scenery experienced on that day in Singapore. That will be a wonderful way to end the Chingay Parade 2013. All of us perspired even though we didn’t really get active during the parade. It must be the adrenaline in us that helps to regulate our heart beat rate that caused us to perspire but we enjoyed it throughout. In this event, people like the student volunteers, motivators, light and sound in-charge, emcees and the audiences came together as one and played a part to make this event a successful one.

For your information, Chingay Parade 2013 celebrates its 41st anniversary this year as it first started out during the year 1973. Ultimately, I sensed high positive energy around and it’s a good way to welcome the Year of Snake. In conclusion, it’s a gain to attend this extravaganza as its Asia's largest annual street procession of floats. Therefore, it will be highly recommended to people that appreciates multicultural traditional performance.

CCA Fair 2013

Tension was building in the air at 9am on the 15th of January 2013 at ITE College East (Simei)’s indoor sports hall. It was the day of the campus’s annual CCA fair. The large room was packed with people. Students and staff alike were keeping themselves occupied, reaching upwards to stick laminated sheets of coloured paper advertising their club’s activities and achievements. Some were down on their knees, fiddling with the main sockets in which they were to plug their electronic gadgets into. The rest were busy with decorations. 

The event was to officially begin at 10 o’clock sharp. However, students started streaming in earlier. Guests were guests. They had to be served. Looking fresh-faced and alert, many freshmen strode in cautiously. Amongst them were second year students, and they carried with them the intention of either looking for their duty-bound friend at an assigned booth or finding a new CCA. All in all, they were soon greeted with smiles at the entrance.

Groups of students representing a variety of CCAs had gathered at the entrance, hoping to snag a few new recruits for their own. Sure enough, several bewildered students were later brought away to a certain destination. Others however, soon learnt the art of dodging an unwanted welcoming committee. They hightailed their way out. Once out of earshot, many might let out a relieved sigh, only to be greeted with more smiles and persuasion from those tending to the booths. Resigned, that would be when most ended up succumbing to the calls from members of a certain club. The cycle repeated itself. 

By about noon, the energy level in the indoor sports hall had dropped considerably. In addition, some club members started bringing in packets of food and drinks for everyone. Others started leaving the room to grab a bite. After all, it was break time. Everyone was tired and wanted to rest. Shifts were made, and the event continued. Various clubs gathered more interested members and offered them tryouts.

There were interests of all sorts- the arts, community service, entrepreneurship, sports, technology and innovation, and of course the leadership clubs. Art clubs nurture the artist in an individual through participation in diverse clubs and activities. With that said, taking part in various workshops offered will also increase one’s appreciation and showcase talents. Community service allows one to take a step back from his busy schedule and play a part in making the world a better place by helping those who are less fortunate.

On the other hand, entrepreneurship clubs allows a person to explore new market trends, take calculated risks and manage a business venture. What better way is there to learn some useful skills? Sports clubs all provide us with a good deal of exercising, keeping our bodies fit and healthy and always in the best state of mind whether for work or play. Technology clubs let their members get innovative and hone their skills. Lastly, leadership clubs bring off one’s confidence through comprehensive workshops, camps and other training programmes.

 All’s well that ends well. At the end of the day, everyone was equally exhausted and proud of playing a part in this event. While carrying out their roles, many also found themselves making new friends who shared similar interests. What a day.