Gardens by the Bay is all set to bask in the glory of Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration which is going to be held from September 22 to October 8. Based on Autumn Abundance theme, the festival will have a stretch of large-scale lanterns with sets of bountiful harvest and good fortune, alongside nightly cultural performances with a food street and craft booths.
Visitors can expect new stuff, including a floral display in the Flower Dome and an orchid display in the Cloud Forest. The national garden of Singapore, known as 'Gardens by the Bay' that has a stretch of 101 hectares with remarkable displays including the Waters of Prosperity, which is one of the largest lantern displays at Gardens by the Bay till date.
Stretched over 1,250 sq m, the garden sits on the waters of the Dragonfly lake painting a glowing portrait of a fishing village teamed with carp fish. Striking Water Display will be another major attraction at Gardens by the Bay, which features 250 waterily lanterns floating amid fish and ducks, each one dancing to the tunes of accompanying music.
Nearby, there will be a display of paddy fields tagged with Grains of Gold, beaming with 4,000 glowing rice stalks, where two farmers and oxen are ploughing the ground. The glowing grains symbolise rice as an important source of food and the main source of economy.
There will also be some other lantern displays like the Picturesque Lantern Display, which depict Ant Lanterns carrying harvest, Dragon fly lanterns which are larger-than-life, Dragon lanterns perched on Supertrees and Dragonfly bridge.
As in many cultures, dragons are depicted as guardians of luck and prosperity. Another speciality of the flower dome is its vibrant shades of orange, red, gold and green. It also has a display of various pretty blooms and fruit-vegetable shaped lanterns.
In addition to all this, there will be a display of 10 varieties of pumpkin dedicated to Halloween. Even Cinderella's pumpkin carriage marked its appearance among the pumpkin trees. And not to forget Silver garden, which is all decked up with installations of 1,000 lights designed by beneficiaries from 30 voluntary welfare organisations.
To visit the garden's grand set, visitors have to purchase tickets to the inner dome, which cost from S$8 to S$28 each. The event will witness the celebration of diverse performances from a Malay dance group. Artist Seni Budaya will croon to songs representing the act of harvesting and gotong-royong (community spirit), while the National Arts Council will present "Blossoming Harvest", which is a series of performances by the artist of the council.
The festival will be officially launched by Desmond Lee, Minister for Social and Family Development, on September 22 at 7.30 pm.
