Carnival helps residents bond at community level
SINGAPORE — In a bid to bridge the gap between locals and new immigrants in the heartlands, the People’s Association’s One Community Fiesta is returning in a new format this year: Being held at the community level, instead of the national level.
Unlike the single nationwide celebration of past years, there are 16 events now, and Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) got the ball rolling with a carnival at Woodlands Waterfront Park yesterday.
About 1,000 participants flocked to the carnival to watch dance performances, sample cuisines from different ethnic groups and play games that promoted virtues such as tolerance.
Member of Parliament (Sembawang GRC) Vikram Nair said: “The event was done at a constituency level so that residents of a particular area would get to meet their immediate neighbours — both new citizens and existing residents.”
He highlighted the games showcasing different cultures, and added: “At least when you meet a person from a different culture, you have a bit more insight as to what he’s doing, and hopefully, this builds up understanding and tolerance as well.”
Engineer Xu Ze Xiang, who hails from Fujian, China, and has been living in Singapore for 13 years, joined the HarmonyXperience Race with his friends.
The 41-year-old told TODAY that he liked how the games in the race, such as henna painting, solving jigsaw puzzles and saying “hello” in 10 different languages, helped to build teamwork.
His team-mate Zeenath Beevi Mohamad Kassim, a 50-year-old housewife, summed it up best: “I’m an Indian. The others in my team are Chinese. We get to bond. It’s a good event.”
