What do yummy dim sum, an oil lamp, a wobbly sheep and kung fu-fighting animals have in common? They are all part of the narrative in the 22nd edition of the Singapore Writers Festival, having inspired some of its family-friendly programmes in a segment christened ‘SWF Playground’.
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With an extensive programme reflecting this year’s theme, ‘A Language of Our Own’, Singapore Writers Festival 2019, organised by the National Arts Council, aims to examine the role that languages play in the formation of identities and communities as our world becomes more globalised, and yet at the same time, more fractured.
Through SWF Playground, even children can take part in this literary exchange! Expect fun-filled events, ranging from interactive storytelling to performances and workshops, that spark their imagination and challenge them to think out of the box.
The festival runs from 1 to 10 November 2019, with events spread across a few venues in the Civic District.
Interactive Storytelling And Readings In Multiple Languages
Children as young as 4 can look forward to stories spun around interesting subject matters, such as smelly tofu, kung fu animals and overly-long names, told in English and mother-tongue languages.
Give Me A Name!
Catch the hilarious tale about how dumpling siblings Xiajiao and Shaomai, from the Little Dim Sum Warriors book series, created a new character named Smelly Tofu together! Kids will also enjoy a fun craft activity based on the story. This session will be conducted in both Mandarin and English – a great way to build up little ones’ love for their mother tongue.
When: 3 Nov 2019, 1 pm to 1.45 pm
Where: The Arts House, Living Room
Free
Recommended for children 4 to 8 years old
Meet the Kung Fu Force!
Kung fu-crazy kids will love this story featuring a martial arts squad made up of a lizard, a Bengal cat and a cockatoo led by their ‘shifu’, a seahorse! Together, they come to the rescue of Mr Goh, who’s stuck on a building that’s about to collapse. And who better to narrate the tale than real-life kung fu master Robin Leong, who authored the book. You’ll get to learn some cool kung fu moves from him too!
When: 9 Nov 2019, 11.30 am to 12.15 pm
Where: The Arts House, Play Den
Free
Recommended for children 4 to 8 years old
Counting Sheep
What do you do when you can’t sleep and the sheep that you’re counting is too wobbly to jump over the fence? Find out how Sam and her woolly friends try to solve the problem in the most imaginative ways ever! Besides the rhyming prose in Pippa Chorley’s well-loved book ‘Counting Sheep’, kids will also enjoy the corresponding craft activities planned.
When: 10 Nov 2019, 10.30 am to 11.15 am
Where: The Arts House, Play Den
Free
Recommended for children four to eight years old
The Trouble With Names…
Expect a lively session where kids will chant names, act out bit parts and create bookmarks as they go back in time with folktale storyteller Nek Selampit to an era when first-born children were given unusually long names. This session is conducted in Malay as well as English, enabling young ones to be exposed to their mother tongue in a fun setting.
When: 2 Nov 2019, 11.30 am to 12.15 pm
Where: The Arts House, SWF POP Stage
Free
Recommended for children 4 to 8 years old
The Brilliant Oil Lamp
This is another story that will bring you back to the past – this time to the 1970s! Children will be intrigued by the introduction of an oil lamp and the many creative ways it can be used following a power failure in the flat where Asha, the main character in the book, lives. Author Quek Hong Shin will be inviting kids to join in a series of fun activities, including shadow play, while he narrates.
When: 3 Nov 2019, 2 pm to 2.45 pm
Where: The Arts House, Living Room
Free
Recommended for children 4 to 8 years old
Stories in Art
Follow veteran storyteller and founder of ACT 3 Theatrics R Chandran on a literary journey inspired by artworks from the National Gallery’s permanent exhibitions and the theme of Singapore Writers Festival 2019, ‘A Language of Our Own’.
When: Four sessions are available: 9 Nov 2019, 2.30 pm to 3.15 pm; 9 Nov 2019, 3.30 pm to 4.15 pm; 10 Nov 2019, 2.30 pm to 3.15 pm; 10 Nov 2019, 3.30 pm to 4.15 pm;
Where: National Gallery Singapore, Keppel Centre for Arts Education
Free
Recommended for children 4 to 8 years old
Hands-on Learning Through Workshops Conducted By Established Writers
Beyond enjoying stories, young aspiring writers can seize the opportunity to learn directly from literary greats such as Jack Cheng of ‘See You in the Cosmos’ fame and award-winning illustrator and author Chris Riddell, through workshops organised by SWF Playground.
Popular writing duo AJ Low, authors of Singapore’s own ‘Sherlock Sam’ series, will also be returning to create fun learning experiences following previous years’ successes.
The Write Morning
Sign your little writer up for either of ‘The Write Morning’ sessions, where participants will benefit from a workshop and talk conducted by best-selling authors.
In ‘The Write Morning I’, participants can choose between two workshops: learning to write about Singapore’s wild animals and creating food-inspired characters, conducted by authors Maureen Yeo and Colin Goh respectively.
After the hands-on exercise comes an interactive talk by Chris Riddell, who has won multiple major prizes for his illustrations. The accomplished artist will be making live drawings to show participants how to build stories from sketchy ideas. What a visual treat!
While ‘The Write Morning I’ caters to kids from 7 to 12 years old, ‘The Write Morning II’ is designed more specifically for those aged 10 to 12.
For the workshop segment, participants can either go with AJ Low’s Dungeons & Dragons-inspired session about creating multi-faceted characters, or take up performance poet Charlene Shepherdson’s class on penning and presenting a visual poem. Adding on to the learning experience is multi-awarded Jack Cheng’s talk on how to use space and science in stories.
When: The Write Morning I: 2 Nov 2019, 10 am to 1 pm; The Write Morning II: 9 Nov 2019, 10 am to 1 pm
Where: The Arts House
Ticketed event: $10
Writing Workshops By Jack Cheng and David Yoon
Best-selling author David Yoon’s debut novel, ‘Frankly In Love’, about a Korean boy pressured by his parents to find a Korean girlfriend reflects his own experiences growing up. Renowned writer Jack Cheng’s moving book ‘See You in the Cosmos’ is written as an audio transcript from a Golden iPod.
Young participants will learn invaluable lessons from these two literary figures on the topics of drawing on their personal experiences to shape their characters, and telling a story from different points of view.
When: 10 Nov 2019, 1 pm to 3 pm
Where: Asian Civilisations Museum, Discovery Room
Ticketed event: $10
Recommended for children 10 to 12 years old
Arty Farty Alphabet
In this light-hearted SWF Playground workshop, artist and educator Brindha Menon invites curious little ones to interpret the different strokes of the alphabet – using Tamil characters as examples! For example, the letter ‘A’ looks like the top of a pencil; ‘S’ looks like a fishhook. Then comes the fun part: the children will make illustrations using words from their mother tongue!
When: 10 Nov 2019, 11.30 am to 12.15 pm
Where: The Arts House, Gallery II
Free
Recommended for children 4 to 8 years old
Screenings Of Short Films Including Celebrated Children’s Titles
Families can also sit back, relax and enjoy a morning of child-friendly short films at SWF Playground. The first screening on 3 November includes the Oscar-nominated film adaptation of the well-loved book ‘Room On The Broom’ by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, while the second screening on 9 November includes the award-winning print-to-screen version of Oliver Jeffers’ ‘Lost and Found’.
When: Book Lovers: 3 Nov 2019, 10.30 am to 11.30 am; Avid Readers: 9 Nov 2019, 10.30 am to 11.30 am
Where: National Gallery Singapore, Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium
Ticketed event: $12.90
Book Lovers: recommended for children 3 years old and up; Avid Readers: recommended for children 6 years old and up
Both films are co-presented with Big Eyes, Big Minds – Singapore International Children’s Film Festival.
Performances
Move to the groove of a stirring performance titled ‘Dirty Feet’ inspired by author and actress Sharon Ismail’s ‘Sallamah’ series of books, which explore the true meaning of family through real life-inspired stories about cross-cultural adoption. There are two chances to catch this special showcase commissioned for the SWF Playground audience.
When: 2 Nov 2019, 10 am to 10.45 am; 9 Nov 2019, 10 am to 10.45 am
Where: The Arts House, SWF POP Stage
Free
Recommended for children 4 to 8 years old
A Handy Guide To SWF Playground
To make sure that you don’t miss any of the fun-filled events highlighted, download Little Day Out’s Guide to SWF Playground 2019 for easy reference.
For more information on Singapore Writers Festival 2019 and SWF Playground, visit the festival website here.
This feature is brought to you by National Arts Council.
GIVEAWAY: Tickets to: Singapore Writer’s Fest Playground Events!
Little Day Out is giving away:
6 tickets to 6 winners (ONE ticket each) to attend one of the following 3 events:
– The Write Morning I
– The Write Morning II
– Writing Workshops by Jack Cheng & David Yoon
at the Singapore Writer’s Fest Playground
This contest has closed. Watch this space where we will be announcing the winners!
