SINGAPORE – Make family time all the more special with these ideas and activities.
Join: BBC Earth Screening Festival
The BBC Earth Screening Festival returns on Saturday.
From 5.30 to 9pm, spread your mat at Gardens by the Bay’s Supertree Grove and enjoy outdoor screenings of BBC’s animated shows, including Hey Duggee, Go Jetters, Supertato and Bluey.
Then, catch a preview of the debut episode of Planet Earth III here before it hits TV screens in Asia.
Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, the nature documentary series is the final instalment to the Planet Earth trilogy. Your kids will be fascinated by scenes of rare animal behaviours.
The eight-part series premieres on BBC Earth (StarHub Channel 407, Singtel Channel 203 and BBC Player) on Sunday at 8pm.
At the festival, early birds can redeem an exclusive BBC Earth tote bag designed by local artist Sam Lo and enjoy Kind Kones ice cream. Kids can also take part in a stamp collection activity to redeem a gift.
Entry is free. Find out more at www.bbcasia.com/bbc-earth-screening-festival-2023
Read: Free local children’s books
Amri is given a special role in a Malay wedding. For the first time, the 11-year-old is tasked to hold the bunga manggar (glittery decorative sticks on a bamboo pole) while parading with the kompang (traditional Malay instrument) group.
Young readers get to learn about the nuptial ceremony and its traditions through his eyes in the story Escort For King Of The Day.
Written by Farihan Bahron and illustrated by Josef Lee, it is one of eight new free children’s titles inspired by local cultures and religions.
All are hosted on the House Of Mini Picture Books website, where parents and kids can read the stories online. They can also download and print the titles.
Besides established authors, five students from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts are also part of this book project spearheaded by Lee.
Student Joelle Ong’s Boo Appetit is an amusing take on the Hungry Ghost Festival and features different types of ghosts to represent the races: jiangshi (Chinese), toyol (Malay) and bhoota (Indian).
“Despite looking different from one another, we can all come together and celebrate our love for food with a twist of spookiness,” says Ong, who wrote the funny tale and drew the friendly ghost characters.
Read the stories for free at www.minipicbooks.com
Watch: I Woke Up A Vampire
Here is a new teen drama series to add to your family’s Halloween watch list: I Woke Up A Vampire.
Turning 13 is a major milestone, but it is not what Carmie (Kaileen Angelic Chang) expected.
Strange things start happening to her, from sprouting fangs to levitating and hearing dogs talk to her in complete sentences.
Being a superpowered teenage “vampling” also means gaining enemies, and she has to learn to control her newly discovered abilities while struggling with school life.
Carmie has always known that she was adopted. And now, she is even more determined to find out who her biological parents are.
All eight episodes are streaming on Netflix.