DBS PayLah! Palooza - Singapore's FIRST Cashless Payment Flea Market Bazaar

ADVERTORIAL

Enjoyed your experience at Artbox Singapore a few weeks ago and missing it already? Many of the Artbox vendors will be setting up booths at the upcoming DBS PayLah! Palooza, happening this Friday to Sunday at *SCAPE Playspace, just beside Orchard Cineleisure. The DBS PayLah! Palooza is Singapore's very first CASHLESS payment-led flea market bazaar, jointly organized by DBS and *SCAPE, and in support of Singapore's Smart Nation Drive.


Some of the vendors at the upcoming event includes Fay Terrarium, 93ArtMarket, BarangShop, Pine43, DopeTactics, ShamlessSG, RisottoChips.  There will be more than 100 fashion, food and lifestyle pop-up stores, including some social enterprises supported by the DBS Foundation.

Photo Credit

Not just a fanatic shopper, but also an avid gamer like me? You get to play virtual reality games such as Call of Duty, Star Wars and more, at DBS PayLah! Palooza. Also, be entertained by stage performances from popular acts such as Indie-pop sensation Inch Chua.

Before you drop by the event,

remember to download the DBS PayLah! app

in your mobile device. 

"Why? What for?"
To pay lah!

As this bazaar is fully cashless, you will have to use your mobile devices to scan and pay for your purchases at the event via QR codes with DBS PayLah! While you are there, don't forget to post photos on your Instagram and use the following hashtags: #dbspaylah #dbspaylahpalooza #paylahpalooza.

** GOOD DEALS WHEN YOU PAYLAH! **

 1. Download DBS PAyLah! app and get SGD5^ credited into your PayLah! account by keying in this promo code "PAYLAH505" during the registration process. 

2.  Get SGD5^^ off on your first SGD10 spent at DBS PayLah! Palooza.

Get ready for an enthralling weekend this May!

Date: 05 to 07 May 2017

Time: 1pm to 9pm

Venue *SCAPE Playspace

^{^} S$5 cash credit is only for new users who have registered for DBS PayLah! for the first time and who have fulfilled the eligibility criteria as listed in the full terms and conditions here. Valid from 20 April 2017 to 30 May 2017 for the first 10,000 successful new sign ups only.

^{^^} Valid with a minimum spend of S$10 using DBS PayLah! QR code function, from 5 – 31 May 2017 for the first 5,000 users. Click here for full terms and conditions

20,000 Free Guinness Draught Pints by Guinness Singapore

Yes, Guinness Singapore is giving away 20000 free pints 
of Guinness Draught in Singapore for the upcoming St Patrick's Festival once again! 

From 01 to 19 March 2017, you can sign up for the free pint if you are a Singapore citizen, Permanent Resident, Valid Work Permit or Employment Pass Holder, and of course, of the legal drinking age...

DO NOT DRIVE TO DRINK,
SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO DRINK AND DRIVE.

How to redeem your dark brew pint of Guinness goodness?

(1) Fill up the details on this site: http://www.stpats2017.com.sg.

(2) Wait for the SMS confirmation that will be sent to the mobile number you keyed in during registration.

(3) Visit any of the participating outlets to get your free pint!
There are about 100 outlets all across Singapore for you to choose from! For myself, I prefer going to one of the Irish watering holes in Singapore... :)

Registering and redeeming the free Guinness draught pint is that simple! Whether you are a Guinness lover, stout lover, beer lover, or even just curious how this creamy dark malt taste like, don't hesitate and quickly get your free pint today, because the 20K Guinness pints get redeemed really quickly! Share this blogpost with your family, colleagues, friends or even that guy/lady that you see each day at your office lobby!

While you are at it, wear green like a leprechaun... Especially if you are heading to the annual St Patrick's Street Festival happening at Circular Road (Boat Quay) from 17 to 19 March 2017. Fun-filled family-friendly activities for the kids, music performances, and of course, lotsa Guinness (the official beer for the festival)! Of course there will be other beers available, but if you know me well enough, my preference is stout. But to know why... That's another story for another day. ;)

I cannot wait to go to the Street Festival happening in 2 weeks' time --- Similar to last year, I can eat, drink and go merry with my Stout while enjoying celtic music (which I grown to love while living in London back then!). On a side note, my only regret during my months in London was not making a trip to Dublin to visit the Guinness Storehouse (Reason: I could not bring myself to go to the scenic Ireland by myself!).

Hope you will find a four-leaf clover one day!

Till then, a SaltBae shot inspired by Turkish chef Nusret Gökçe!
#iAmNotSaltBae #iAmStoutBae 

Fun-filled Friday with Cirque Eloize!

Based on the previous blogpost, which you can click [HERE] to read, you would have known how much I enjoyed myself at the Cirque Eloize iD media event, as well as the performance on the opening night itself. With more than 4000 performances to its credit in over 440 cities and 40 countries, the company aims to amaze their audience with jaw-opening and heart-stopping stunts, alongside a storyline that most can relate to (be it in real life or through the movies/TV shows we watch).

For pictures and videos relating to the Cirque Eloize iD performance, there is [THIS BLOGPOST] that you can go to view at.

For this blogpost, here's some other photos

taken on the day itself...

Took a selfie with Cirque Eloize iD banner board

after the press preview ended

A mirror reflection selfie, taken using Panasonic GX7

The press event was in the afternoon, whereby people from the media could interview and take photos, and get to watch a few performances that the talented cast had put up. It was the Opening Night on the same day itself, and I managed to watch it. All thanks to Base Asia for the tickets, and for the media seats!

Yeap,that's me!

Not only the performers are important...
The people that works in the background are just as vital

to make the whole performance a success!

For the actual performance, media was allowed to take photos during the first ten minutes or so. So I had some photos and videos. The rest of the time, I was simply enjoying myself throughout the show.

Photo taken during the intermission (Using phone)

Photo taken during the intermission (Using Camera)

Meet-and-greet session with Cirque Eloize cast after the show

Thanks to Base Entertainment Asia and the agency for the invites... Though it was my first media collaboration with Base, I have been watching musicals brought in by them, such as CATS, Wicked, The Sound of Music, and my all-time favorite - Phantom Of The Opera! I can literally remember all the lyrics to the songs... And just by listening to the songs, I can visualise the scenes and all the acting. That is how much I love POTO - Ever since I watched it for the first time at Kallang Theatre, and I wasn't even close to 10 years of age back then! Since then, I have watched POTO musicals a few times in my life so far, with the most recent one in London at Her Majesty's Theatre last year (and that's gonna be a blog post for another day). Till then, love more!

Cirque Eloize iD - Impressive and Thrilling Circus Dance Acts

Like with all circus acts, there are the usual clowns, trained animals and others... But the critically-acclaimed Cirque Eloize iD, directed by Jeannot Painchaud, stands out by positioning itself at the heart of the renewal of circus acts, away from all these stereotypes. Set against an urban backdrop, the Cirque Eloize iD team is made up of high-energy world-class artists performing a thrilling, jaw-dropping and heart-stopping combination of circus acrobatics, hip hop and street dance.

Be transported through various streets of a typical local neighbourhood with the use of brilliant visual video production backdrops. Get prepared to be entertained through the stories that were narrated with stunts, dances and scintillating facial expressions and body language. A  fantastic 90-minutes performance that keeps the audience at the edge of their seats not to be missed!

While it seems like the story centers around the usual gang rivalry between street kids in a big city, with upbeat electronic music and awesome choreographed dance moves, Cirque Eloize adds melodramatic acts of love such as the affection between a contortionist (Nicole Winter) with a B-Boy and a beautiful story between an aerial silk artist (Nicole Winter) and an inline skater (Jon Larrucea).

Diana Gonzalez did a marvellous performance using the Cyr Wheel. Watch the video below to see how this talented Mexican performer stands inside the Cyr wheel and grasps its rim, causing it to roll and spin gyroscopically while performing acrobatic moves in and around the rotating wheel.

Mastering the trial bike, French-born Thibaut Philippe, is no stranger to performing stunts with it. Having performed in his own shows, municiple sporting events, business openings and on television, watch Thibaut did a skipping rope routine while on his bike, going within the ever-moving skipping rope area with much ease. During this act, watch urban dancers breakdance while going through the whole rope movement. For this routine, the most impressive one would have been the skipping rope jump of a skipping jump of a skipping rope jump.... You have to watch it to know what I mean. But I assure you, that quick act would have been missed with a blink of an eye. So keep your eyes glued to this act!

 

Battling against (and with) gravity, and using sheer strength and techniques, watch Olivier Poitras weaves magic scaling the Chinese pole. Witness him holding steadily like a flag on a flag pole, positioning himself perpendicular to it, using either his hands, or just his ankles!

One act which probably shocked the audience and halt their breathe would have been when one of the performers dived down from a height.... Only to spring upwards, thanks to the trampoline hidden from sight! Following which, various members of the cast tackled the trampowall and did a wonderfully-chereographed act.

I have to applause Robert Massicotte and Alexis Laurence for being able to use just the walls of the stage set to have changing backdrops for different scenes through the use of video images and visual effects. It was interesting how the cast appears and disappears through the cleverly-designed and concealed doors and openings.

Other than watching the actual performance on the Opening night itself, I went to the press event that took place earlier that day. Other than being treated to some of the performances, we got to interview some of the cast, and have some photo opportunities which they gracefully posed and performed for us.

Such as the breakdancing poses...

And just when you thought it's just a normal pose...

Or two...

It simply was not...

Check out Thibaut jumping over Nicole!

Or Thibaut doing gravity-defying stunts with his trial bike!

Overall, it was an entertaining performance put up bu the entire production team. Every person did a great job - Ranging from the music, lighting, design, background assistance, background training, etc. It was certainly a delighting Friday evening watching this act. Catch Cirque Eloize iD this coming Friday to Sunday at the various timings stated below.

CIRQUE ELOIZE ID
Season: 26 February to 06 March 2016
Venue: Sands Theatre, Mastercard Theatres at Marina Bay Sands
Time: Friday (7.30pm), Saturday (2pm & 7.30pm), Sunday (1pm & 6pm)
Price: From SGD45
Purchase method: Online (MBS, Sistic or Base Entertainment websites), Phone (+65 66888826) or at MBS Box Offices.

Singapore Night Festival 2015 - Glitz and Glamour

The Singapore Night Festival has indeed come a long way from the beginning, ever since its inception 8 years ago. And for this year, the Singapore Night Festival 2015 has proven to successfully wow the city with its spectacular live performances and lighting art installations, given the huge turnout which I witnessed last weekend when I was there.

Before I went to the event, I have no idea what to expect, nor have an idea where I should go or what I should watch... Except that I chanced upon videos of some arts performances on Instagram which caught my interest. For you out there, you can visit the official Singapore Night Festival website at www.nightfest.sg, to get more information pertaining to the acts and displays that will be happening for the second AND final weekend for this event.

You know how we were warned not to play with fire when we were young? Seems like there is the fun and thrill in playing with fire (with practice and under professional guidance and safety precautions, of course haha!) when one gets older... As what the team from local Flow Arts collective Starlight Alchemy has shown us. :p

Overloaded with cuteness, is The Anooki. They are the smallest Inuits in the world, and the playful nature of theirs did not fail to entertain the crowd who gathered at the grass lawn right in front of the National Museum of Singapore. They are aired for about seven minutes each time, with a seven minutes' interval between each "performance". I caught the performance twice... Once for photo taking, once for video filming purpose.

Check out the 7-minutes performance of The Anooki in my video below:



After watching The Anooki, I went into the National Museum to view the Little Nyonya's Dream exhibition, and took photos with some of the printed Nyonya characters (Hi fellow Peranakans! ;p ).

I decided to call it a night and head off for supper, when I was greeted by a tune of addictive beats. Walking towards the crowd that had once again gathered at the grass lawn, I saw a group of performers that were dressed in LED-illuminated outfits, moving to the beats and rhythm of their own music creation.

I like this shot alot, with a guy in the dark background. And no prize if you guess correctly on who my muse for the show is. :p

These entertaining and talented folks, which I have found out later, is a group named World Beaters Music, hailing from the United Kingdom (Oh London, I miss you so!!!). I love their high-impact drumming, how their drums and costumes utilized LED lighting into their performing acts, and how they interact with the audience! Their performance was certainly the highlight of my time at the Singapore Night Festival, and was certainly the best way to end off my Saturday night!!


Check out my video that I filmed of the World Beaters Music!




This is all that I am blogging on, in regards to the Singapore Night Festival 2015. I hope it had gotten you interested to head down this weekend to be part of this modern arts festival. There are some performances that will be showing this weekend, so check out the official website for the exact zones and timings.


I would have gone down again this weekend to catch the other performances and art installations... However, I am overseas from now till next week, so I have to give this weekend a miss. I'm still glad that I have gone down last weekend, and I am still very amazed with the drummers even to this day. :)