From traditional performances such as opera, acrobatics, and face-changing acts to tea-tasting and hands-on wife cake baking, Singapore's 'Five Footway Festival' will return next weekend, inviting the public to experience Chinatown's rich history and culture and relive the nostalgic atmosphere of the past.
The Chinatown Business Association will be holding the 'Five Footway Festival' from next Saturday (May 2) to May 10, transforming the traditional 'five footways' in front of shophouses into vibrant spaces that showcase culture, community, and street life.
'Five footways' refer to covered walkways in front of old shophouses. Due to the rainy climate in the Nanyang region, as early as the founding of Singapore in 1819, Raffles mandated that there must be a 5-foot-wide covered sidewalk between shophouses and the street to shelter pedestrians from sun and rain. As times changed, shophouses were gradually replaced by public housing and high-rises, and the five footways lost their original function. Nowadays, they can only be found in the city center and Chinatown.
During the two weekends of the festival, there will be a series of exciting activities, including stage performances such as lion dance, acrobatics, face-changing, opera, poetry readings, as well as nostalgic games like five stones and glass marbles.
In addition, the public can join cultural experiences for free, such as Beijing opera makeup and paper cutting, while paid activities include origami, tea appreciation, opera appreciation, wife cake baking, and special lectures on the history of Chinatown.
The organizers held a media preview on Friday, inviting some performers to give excerpts of their acts, including dance, face-changing, drama, and puppetry.
One of the performing groups is Xin He Ping Puppet Show, which is participating in the Five Footway Festival for the first time. The troupe will present the Fujian string puppet play 'Abundance of Gold and Jade' on May 3. Due to scheduling issues, it was another group from Xin He Ping Puppet Show that performed the Xinghua string puppet demonstration at the media preview.