Singapore's 1st Songkran water festival goes dry

[Lite Beer]

S'pore's 1st Songkran water festival goes dry
Melody Zaccheus

SINGAPORE: -- There will be no water pistol fights, celebrity dunk stations, or really, any kind of water fun at Singapore's first Songkran water festival on April 12 and 13.

The organisers of Celebrate Songkran 2014 at the Padang have taken heed of the national campaign to conserve water and nixed the water-based activities. Instead, they will host a Water Conservation and Water Heritage Exhibition in conjunction with national water agency PUB.

There will be no water pistol fights, celebrity dunk stations, or really, any kind of water fun at Singapore’s first Songkran water festival on April 12 and 13.

The organisers of Celebrate Songkran 2014 at the Padang have taken heed of the national campaign to conserve water and nixed the water-based activities.

Instead, they will host a Water Conservation and Water Heritage Exhibition in conjunction with national water agency PUB.

The organisers said this was appropriate in view of the recent dry spell and current moves to cut back on water usage.

Though lighting designer Sanischaya Mankhongphithakkul, 25, agrees with the rationale, it still feels a little odd. "What’s a water festival without water?"

During Songkran, celebrated every year during the Thai New Year from April 13 to 15, thousands take to the streets to douse each other with water guns and buckets.

Event organiser Leo Chin, 38, said the reworked concept does not detract from the celebration of water. "Water can either be saved or wasted. In this case, we have chosen to save it."

While he is bracing himself for some backlash, he does not expect it to affect the target of 10,000 participants over the two days.

Mr Chin said he cancelled all water-related activities after he had public feedback expressing concern about water wastage. He approached the PUB last week to explore how the event could support water conservation efforts.

Confirming this with The Straits Times, a PUB spokesman said: "While some rain has returned, the recent dry spell is a good reminder for all of us to not take our water for granted, and to conserve water."

Other activities at the event, costing more than half a million, will go on as planned. They include a bazaar of 30 vendors, a family carnival with rides and games and a muay thai tournament. Admission is free for these.

Another highlight is a planned two-day music festival which has sold more than 1,000 tickets, at S$35 (US$61) for each day. The concert will be headlined by American electro-hip hop act Far East Movement and feature Thai artists such as Film Rattapoom and Four Mod.

Meanwhile the festival, which is co-organised by event logistics company JBozz Consultants, has drawn flak in Thailand for riding on the well-known tradition.

The Bangkok Post reported last Wednesday that the director of the surveillance bureau at Thailand’s Ministry of Culture, Ms Yupa Taweewattanakijbaworn, had threatened to sue festival organisers for undermining the values of the Thai festival.

Thailand’s Songkran festivities are an attraction, drawing more than two million visitors from countries such as China, Japan and Australia in April last year.

It is also celebrated in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, and by ethnic groups and tribes in China, Sri Lanka and India.

In Singapore, which has more than 50,000 Thais, celebrations are often held at venues such as Golden Mile Complex. The first level of the mall is sometimes transformed into a dance floor, and celebrants splash each other with water - sometimes from several storeys above.

Assistant Professor Suwichit Chaidaroon at Nanyang Technological University said the move to bring Songkran to Singaporeshows an appreciation of Songkran and Thai culture.

The Singapore office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand told The Straits Times it hopes the festival will be "depicted correctly" to ensure the true essence of Thai traditions and Songkran will not be lost or misrepresented. This could also help drive tourists to Thailand.

"Songkran, without a doubt, can only be experienced truly in Thailand," said its director Kanokkittika Kritwutikon.

Water or no water, landscape architect and expatriate Kanokwal Preechakul, 30, said she is looking forward to the festival. "I can’t return to Thailand anyway so I will attend the festival to take in the party atmosphere."

-- The Nation 2014-03-27

[TVGerry]

Okay cancelling the Songkran party is one thing but replacing it with a water conservation exhibition is just plain dumb. You're replacing something fun with a boring exhibition. Who the hell is going to want to learn about water 'heritage'?

[Bkungbank]

Singapore is buying water from Malaysia and now Malaysia also facing water shortage due to dry spell, it not nice to buy from your neighbor the and wasting away or stealing your northern neighbor tradition inherit from their ancestor hundred for years.

It's noting wrong like some Thai people living in Penang do have Songkran festival in Thai temple but why Singapore like to steal this ideal to promote tourism for themselves as Thailand facing politic uncertain as a truth best friend will never do this when you are in trouble .

[belg]

and i tought they had big desalination installations to make seawater drinkable...

or is it that they listened or bribed by TAT's threats ?

[HerbalEd]

Singapore Songkran = Thai Songkran with a lobotomy.

[bigbamboo]

Good old Sensible Singabore!

[upena]

Thirty provinces suffering from drought in Thailand - let the Songkran water flow.

[Greer]

Okay cancelling the Songkran party is one thing but replacing it with a water conservation exhibition is just plain dumb. You're replacing something fun with a boring exhibition. Who the hell is going to want to learn about water 'heritage'?

If you live in Singapore you will understand why something like a paint drying competition can be a fun and exhilarating way to spend your day... the water conservation exhibition could be extremely interesting... there will be photos of water, pictures of people swimming (only pictures though), pictures of rain, detailed explanations of what water is, examples of great things water has done, ways to use water wisely, and frugally, and fun things you could do with water back in the old days.. I hear they even have a display of some rare (sepia) images from turn of the century water...

It will be amazing....

[rickirs]

Thank you Singapore for the free ad of why you should go to Thailand for Songkran.

[ggt]

Hilarious...what a joke...good luck at selling this around the world...!

[Krataiboy]

Singapore and Thailand have something in common with an increasing number of countries around the world. A serious water shortage. The city state has responded by holding a water festival focussing on the need to conserve the precious liquid.

Unlike the stupid killjoys, the Singaporeans, Thais, even those in at least 17 provinces already in the middle of a serious water shortage,will as usual spend four or five days - over a week in more enlightened areas of the country - throwing millions of gallons of water down the drain as if there is no tomorrow.

Which there probably won't be when the stuff runs out. But who gives a monkey 's about the future when you live in a country which has yet to catch up with the present?

Beam me up, somebody.

[DLP]

Why cant they do the same here.

[NevNic]

Reminds me of a few years back when Thailand tourist figures were way above Singapore's, the Singaporean Tourist Minister announced: "We have to take this fun thing seriously"

[soihok]

A large percentage of Singapore's water supply is actually pumped across the Straits from Malaysia. The country isn't self sufficient in that area.
There have been several projects launched to help reduce the reliance on Malaysia to supply the nation with water, such as desalination of Marina bay (plus others) and the creation of NEWater which is actually recycled waste water (mainly used for commercial and industrial customers).
I actually worked on part of the network of tunnels that collect waste water throughout Singapore in the early 2000's, and one of the subsequent jobs building MRT lines I worked on actually used NEWater through the project. Although it still smelt like shit, it appeared clean.

So it doesn't surprise me that there will be no water thrown about - better head off to Thailand then - I am

[MrWorldwide]

Big problem in Oz, but its broken in my neck of the woods.

We've gone from talking about the endless drought to serious concerns around floods in SE Qld and northern NSW:

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/big-wet-hits-southeast-queensland-roads-cut-flash-flooding-massive-rainfall/story-fnkt21jb-1226867027645

Yeppoon, in central QLD, had half a metre of rain (500mm) in two days - thats an equatorial deluge IME.'

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-27/torrential-rain-fuels-flash-flooding-yeppoon-in-central-qld/5348290

I've seen a few reports of recent rain in Penang, but KL still seems to be locked into the 'pray for rain' routine : perhaps Songkran really will be more than just a bunch of idiots with Super Soakers this year (I know it has more significance to the Thai people than that, but the Pattaya circus is seriously OTT)

[techboy]

and i tought they had big desalination installations to make seawater drinkable...

or is it that they listened or bribed by TAT's threats ?

1. The desalination crack- Trivial and absurd. BTW, only one fourth of Singapore's water is from desalination. Would this water be vulnerable to depletion in a wet Songkran?

2. after your first statement I imagine that you consider your speculation on "TAT's threats" is more than sarcasm.

[anotheruser]

Singapore is smart. They attract tourist revenue from this event and spend some on promoting water conservation. If even only enough tourists come to pay for the conservation exhibits it is a win for Singapore. Funny how some people point out that Thailand wastes it water in the middle of droughts and now people criticize Singapore for doing the opposite.

[shiok]

Singapore is buying water from Malaysia and now Malaysia also facing water shortage due to dry spell, it not nice to buy from your neighbor the and wasting away or stealing your northern neighbor tradition inherit from their ancestor hundred for years.

It's noting wrong like some Thai people living in Penang do have Songkran festival in Thai temple but why Singapore like to steal this ideal to promote tourism for themselves as Thailand facing politic uncertain as a truth best friend will never do this when you are in trouble .

well the whole world celebrates Christmas the way they like best for centuries, that's not stealing.