Christmas In The Tropics 2008

Drumming up cheer this year-end festive season will be the myriad performances, shopping deals and celebratory events that are lined up for Christmas in the Tropics 2008, to be held from 15 November 2008 to 2 January 2009.

Among the annual highlights of Christmas in the Tropics is the highly anticipated Christmas Light-up, which will mark its 25th anniversary this year. Themed ‘A Sweet Christmas in Singapore’, the decorations will centre around the Sweet Family who live in Christmas Town and run a Sweet Shoppe. The family is celebrating Christmas in Singapore and spreading sweet cheer along Orchard Road and the Marina Bay, which will be transformed into a fantasy candy wonderland. The light-up is conceptualised by Creative Director Dick Lee and will feature a landscape adorned with colourful gumdrops, candy cane street lamps, delectable cupcake houses and giant doughnuts.

The 25th year of the Christmas Light-Up will come alive even more for visitors, with an array of merchandise and activities themed around the light-up’s main characters. Mr and Mrs Sweet, their three children and pets will appear on limited edition products such as squeeze doughnuts, chocolates and eco-friendly bags. The Sweet Family members will also appear on Orchard Road to meet and greet shoppers as well as take photos with them. Shoppers can also indulge in sweet making demonstrations and participate in various sweet-related activities along Orchard Road.

The Christmas Light-up continues to have a strong corporate supporter in Hitachi Limited. “The Christmas Light-up has been an important event in the Hitachi calendar since 1991. Christmas is a season of giving, and through this event, the Hitachi Group in Singapore raised funds to sustain about 150 social service programs. We always strive to be SWEET to the community where we belong,” said Mr Shunsuke Ohtsu, Hitachi Ltd’s Chief Executive for Asia.

Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night from 7pm to 11pm starting 28 November, the Sweet Family members will be handing out free candy and take photos with shoppers. There will also be sweet-making demonstrations in the sweet huts along Orchard Road where shoppers can indulge in sweet treats like ice-cream or traditional Singaporean sweets like dragon beard and ting ting candy. A roving drummer band will also drum up festive spirit to a high. On 20 December, 2,000 participants will join in a mass “fun-athon” event where they will solve sweet-related puzzles along Orchard Road using clue cards. Besides that, shoppers can contribute to charity by helping to complete a 3m by 1.8m mosaic picture of the Sweet Family. For every donation, mock sweets will be added on to the mosaic display at Tong Building.

The other highlight of the season is Celebrate Christmas in Singapore which takes place from 19 to 25 December 2008. Nightly performances at various locations along Orchard Road will feature choirs, mime performances, carolling and dance and amongst these will be performances by international cultural groups hailing from Brazil, Taiwan, Indonesia, Hawaii, Australia and the Philippines. The colourful float parade returns to run nightly between 19 December and Christmas Day and will spread festive cheer from the heartlands to Orchard Road. The Christmas Village at Plaza Singapura will feature a singing Christmas tree and on Christmas Day, the celebrations will culminate in a grand concert at 8pm in front of Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza.

During the festive season, locals and visitors can also enjoy many lifestyle offers with the host of entertainment, dining, retail and spa options lined up.

The magical season takes a fairy-tale turn with the Singapore Dance Theatre’s ‘Nutcracker’ ballet performance, W!LD RICE’s annual musical pantomime ‘Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs’ and The Little Company’s ‘The Tooth Fairy’. Fans of musical luminaries like Sting, Edin Karamazov, Andy Lau, Fong Fei Fei and Taiwanese group Fahrenheit are in for a treat when the stars stage their concerts here. Kids can also delight in their favourite cartoon characters from ‘Sesame Street’ and ‘Precious Moments’ at Marina Square and Suntec City Mall respectively.

Party-goers can revel in the iconic ZoukOut dusk-till-dawn beach dance party, which returns to Sentosa on 13 December. Vivocity will celebrate its second anniversary with a brilliant fireworks display by renowned French pyrotechnics team, Feerie, on 29 November. Come New Year’s Eve, the Marina Bay SINGAPORE Countdown is set to dazzle the crowds with a symphony of lights and floating spheres bearing the wishes of the nation against a sky lit with dazzling fireworks. At The Jewel Box, the ‘Sky Symphony Countdown’ will also feature a choreographed fireworks show and showcase what could be the world’s tallest artificial Christmas tree. Revellers can also head for the Siloso Beach Party to herald in the new year.

Shopping malls are also introducing various in-house events to celebrate the season. The Centrepoint, in line with the Christmas theme of all things sweet, will present ‘The Cacao Show’ where chocolate chefs challenge the world record for the tallest ever chocolate sculpture.
Takashimaya goes green this year with its 16-metre tall Christmas tree powered by solar panels and lit by energy-reducing LED lights. Over at Central, along the Singapore River, it’s a white Christmas with a series of ice skating musicals and workshops.

During this season of indulgence, diners can enjoy various dining promotions at Villa Seafood Galleria, Made in China Hua Song Museum, The Olive Ristorante, Moonladder, The Seafood International, The Vista Bistro and Olio and Dome cafes, amongst others.

Edited and Photography by Eugene Tang. All Rights Reserved.