From 7 to 9 June 2024, uncover the origins and cultural significance of the Dragon Boat Festival at Smith Street, Chinatown! Besides an exhibition, there will be a Hainanese Bak Chang workshop, childhood games, Chinese cultural performances and more.
Chinatown Dragon Boat Festival: 7 to 9 June 2024
The Dragon Boat Festival is organised by the Chinatown Business Association (CBA) in collaboration with programme partners. Festival goers can learn how to make Hainanese rice dumplings, win attractive prizes at the Dragon Boat rowing contest and enjoy traditional Chinese performances at Smith Street.
Executive Director of the Chinatown Business Association, Ms Lim Yick Suan shared, “We are pleased to bring the celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival to Chinatown Singapore. The festival, which is part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, has been celebrated by Chinese all over the world for over two millenniums. Through the exciting line-up of programmes and activities that we have planned for visitors, we hope to preserve our heritage, share the stories and traditions with visitors to Chinatown Singapore, while doing good for the community.”
Year-end Holiday Camps: Discover Fun and Exciting Camps for Kids; Book Early
Dec Fun: Get the Best Ideas for the School Holidays
Origins of Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It is an important festival for Chinese communities around the world. It has its early origins in the worship of the river dragon, before it became associated with commemorating Qu Yuan, a patriotic statesman during the Warring States period of ancient China.
Find out more about the rich history and cultural origins at an exhibition titled “Dragon Boat Festival: Of Thumping Drumbeats and Delicious Dumplings”.
Visitors can also learn about the significance of rice dumplings and how they are made by different Chinese dialect groups as well as how dragon boat races came about.
Attractive Prizes & Supporting Beneficiaries
Visitors and families can look forward to games and activities at Smith Street in June. For those up for a challenge, get your adrenaline pumping for the Dragon Boat Race. Compete and burn the greatest number of calories in five minutes to win Chinatown Food and Beverage vouchers worth $30.
Think you excel in guess-timation? Participate in the Guess the Number of Bak Chang in a Gunny Sack contest!
Other family-friendly activities include lantern riddles, storytelling, dragon boat craft workshops, traditional childhood games including pitch-pot, hopscotch and five stones.
You can also support the less privileged by purchasing a Wish Dumpling Satchet for $5 and hanging wishes on the Wishing Wall. All proceeds will be donated to Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN). Donors stand to win a two day one night package by Amara Singapore and Dorsett Singapore.
Hands On Workshops at Dragon Boat Festival
Chinatown Singapore will also be organising a special hands-on Hainanese Bak Chang workshop. Participants can learn the art of making Hainanese rice dumplings filled with savoury meat, mushrooms, chestnuts and other flavourful ingredients.
How about learning about rice wine? A Sip of Heritage with Rice Wines workshop will let participants explore the traditional Chinese medicine benefits of rice wine, savour the different varieties of rice wine, and learn how to make sweet, fermented rice wine with glutinous rice balls.
Fans of Chinese cultural performances can also look forward to Dragon Dance, Guzheng and Cantonese Opera performances.
Admission to the Dragon Boat Festival is free.
Purchase tickets for selected workshops. Find out more about Dragon Boat Festival 2024.
If you enjoyed this story, we think that you will also appreciate this one on things to do to celebrate the dragon boat festival with kids.
