From touring a floating cardboard city to counting stars with an astrophysicist during a nighttime book talk - get ready for three weekends of fun at SWF Playground!
The Singapore Writers Festival is back for its 25th edition – and this time with a lineup of over 200 programmes catering to people from all walks of life! This includes the return of SWF Playground, the festival’s programme track that’s specially curated for the kiddos and families.
Now, as you can tell from our HoneyKids Book Club, we’re really big on everything literary-related. And it’s not just books that we’re referring to – we love a good storytelling sesh (in all four of Singapore’s official languages), kid-friendly shows and exhibitions, as well as crafty workshops (especially the ones where parents can join with the kids). Guess what? SWF Playground has all of these; that’s why we’re so here for it!
Without further ado, read on for some of the SWF Playground programmes that we’re super excited about.
Storytelling and book talk sessions
1. Sing A Song Of Hawker Food
If there’s one thing that unites all of us in Singapore, it’s definitely our love for local hawker food! The authors and illustrator behind Sing A Song Of Hawker Food, a collection of nursery rhymes about all our favourite hawker fare, are hosting a storytelling session at SWF Playground. Get ready to hear about Humpty Dumpty’s favourite breakfast, the Three Blind Mice’s quest for chicken rice, the origins of Roti John, and more. Plus, the kids will even get a chance to make tutu kueh at the end of the session!
When: 5 November 2022, Saturday, 11am-12pm
Where: The Living Room, The Arts House, 1 Old Parliament Lane, Singapore 179429
Admission: With Festival Pass ($30)
Suitable for: All children with diverse needs and backgrounds
2. Stay Up to See the Stars
What do stars look like? Just how big is the sun? Are there aliens in space? If these questions sound like the ones asked by your kid, then this is a book talk your family won’t want to miss! Join Professor Lisa Harvey-Smith, an astrophysicist and author of three children’s books about space, for an evening under the stars to learn more about our amazing solar system. The kiddos may even get the chance to ask the professor a question or two!
When: 5 November 2022, Saturday, 5-6pm
Where: Roof Top Studio 3, National Gallery Singapore, 1 St. Andrew’s Road, #01-01, Singapore 178957
Admission: Free
Suitable for: Families with children aged four to eight
3. Adventure Architects
The best way to build a treehouse is through your imagination. That’s how popular children’s book author Andy Griffith built his – a 156-storey tall treehouse, to be specific! Sign the kids up for a virtual hangout session with the Treehouse book series author, who’ll be showing them how to transform wild ideas – think giant fighting robots and human pinball machines – into new adventures around his treehouse.
When: 20 November 2022, Sunday, 11am-12pm
Where: Zoom
Admission: Free, registration required
Suitable for: Families with children aged seven to nine
Workshops
4. How Far Away From Home?
If the fam has visited Gallery Children’s Biennale at National Gallery Singapore, chances are the kiddos will remember the huge cardboard home installation on display there. Called Head/Home, this amazing installation is the creation of Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan, made using cardboard collected from a diverse group of people from Singapore and around the world. At SWF Playground, three writers and illustrators will be bringing festival goers on a tour of this floating cardboard city, seen from their point of view. And if they’re up for it, the kids can even create their own fictional urban community during the workshop.
When: 5 November (Saturday), 12 November (Saturday), and 13 November 2022 (Sunday); 2:30-3:30pm
Where: Head/Home space (Level B1), National Gallery Singapore, 1 St. Andrew’s Road, #01-01, Singapore 178957
Admission: Free, registration required
Suitable for: Families with children aged seven to 12
5. Puppet-making and Storytelling Workshop
Ever seen a wayang kulit show before? This is a chance for you and the kids to experience and learn more about this storytelling art form that’s proclaimed by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. This Malay language workshop is facilitated by Indonesian artist Is Yuniarto, who will be teaching you how to create your own wayang kulit character and tell epic stories in Malay.
When: 12 November 2022, Saturday, 10am-12:30pm
Where: Roof Top Studio 3, National Gallery Singapore, 1 St. Andrew’s Road, #01-01, Singapore 178957
Price: Free, registration required
Suitable for: Families with children aged eight and above
6. Bilingual Storytelling Workshop with ThinkTamil Academy
Tamil speaking families will be delighted with this bilingual storytelling and arts and crafts workshop. Join ThinkTamil Academy’s Founder, Yogeswari Preshant, on a discovery journey into the secret world of animals through a storytelling session. Followed by a musical session, a crafts workshop to create your own story’s props, and a play date with ThinkTamil’s mascots Veda and Deva!
When: 12 November 2022, Saturday, 10am-12:30pm
Where: SWF Festival Village, Anderson Bridge, Singapore 049212
Admission: With ticket ($9)
Suitable for: Families with children aged four to six
7. Dreams, Quests, and Biryani
Reading is a multisensory experience – so much so that you can actually ‘taste’ and ‘smell’ food as you read about it. Don’t believe us? This workshop based on the story of Anni Dreams of Biryani will prove you wrong! Author Namita Moolani Mehra will bring you and the fam on a quest to find out the secret ingredient to make the perfect biryani rice. Be warned: you might start craving biryani after this workshop!
When: 12 November 2022, Saturday, 11am-12pm
Where: Roof Top Studio 3, National Gallery Singapore, 1 St. Andrew’s Road, #01-01, Singapore 178957
Admission: With Festival Pass ($30)
Suitable for: Families with children aged four to six
8. What Happens on the Journey to the West?
Here’s a fun-filled workshop that’ll teach you and the kids about the ancient art of shadow puppetry, let you make your own shadow puppet, and bring them to life! This workshop is facilitated by the puppet specialists from Paper Monkey Theatre, a bilingual puppet theatre group. The fun doesn’t end with the drama games and the creation of your own shadow puppet – participants will also be treated to a presentation of the group’s adaptation of the popular Chinese mythology, The Journey West: White Bone Fiend and Mount Fiery.
When: 12 November 2022, Saturday, 1-3pm (Mandarin), 4-6pm and 7-9pm (English)
Where: Roof Top Studio 1 and 3, National Gallery Singapore, 1 St. Andrew’s Road, #01-01, Singapore 178957
Admission: With ticket ($30)
Suitable for: Families with children aged eight to 12
9. Bonus: If You Spy With Your Little Eye: A Found Comic Scavenger Hunt
There are comic panels hidden all over The Arts House during the festival – can you find them all? Look behind a pillar, check underneath a chair, scrutinise the doors around The Arts House to see how many comic panels you can find. You could even piece them together to make your own comic strip!
When: 4-20 November 2022, 10am-10pm
Where: The Arts House, 1 Old Parliament Lane, Singapore 179429
Admission: Free
Suitable for: Families with children of all ages
Excited for some family fun at SWF Playground?
Be sure to grab your Festival Passes and book your slots soon! Passes and tickets can be purchased on Singapore Writers Festival’s website or via SISTIC.
We’ll see you at the festival!
This post is in partnership with Arts House Limited, on Singapore Writers Festival.