Sands for Singapore Charity Festival, Marina Bay Sands’ signature event, will make a comeback for the first time after a two-year hiatus to shine a spotlight on meaningful causes in Singapore and celebrate the spirit of giving amongst guests, community partners, employees, and the public.
Kicking off on 8 September with a special edition of Spectra, Marina Bay Sands’ light and water show, the three-day charity extravaganza will transform the Event Plaza into a bustling Giving Marketplace for non-profit organisations, social enterprises, and small local businesses to raise funds for charity.
The public can also participate in art and craft workshops, and be enthralled by a spectacular line-up of free performances every evening, including headliner acts by Singaporean musicians Benjamin Kheng, Tabitha Nauser, and Annette Lee. Capping off the festivities is the annual Community Chest Heartstrings Walk and Vertical Marathon, which Marina Bay Sands co-organises, on 10 September.
Mr Paul Town, Marina Bay Sands’ Chief Operating Officer, said: “Giving back to the community has always been one of Marina Bay Sands’ key priorities. This year, we are pleased to welcome the return of Sands for Singapore Charity Festival and bring together our employees, charitable organisations, as well as the wider community to join us for a common cause once again – to raise funds and awareness for the underprivileged in Singapore. We hope it will rally more among us to step up and lend a hand to make a difference in our community.”
In the spirit of Mid-Autumn Festival, the Lily Pond located at ArtScience Museum will be lit with 500 mesmerising lanterns, allowing visitors to bask in the glow of the full moon. Marina Bay Sands will also be giving away 3,000 lanterns for free at the Marina Bay Sands Mooncake Booth.
First held in 2013, the Sands for Singapore Charity Festival is Marina Bay Sands’ signature event and is part of the integrated resort’s community engagement programme, Sands Cares.
To date, over S$27 million has been raised for local charities.
Giving Marketplace @ Event Plaza
Shop for a cause at a curated selection of booths set up by non-profit organisations and social enterprises at this year’s Giving Marketplace. Unique lifestyle products, as well as food and beverage, will be on sale to raise awareness for their causes. All proceeds will be retained by participating non-profit organisations and social enterprises, ensuring that more funds go towards their beneficiaries directly.
Visitors with a keen eye for art may peruse a range of exclusive art merchandise curated by non-profit arts intermediary Art Outreach Singapore, where pay-as-you-wish crochet vessels handmade by Singaporean textile artist Kelly Limerick and a team of 87 volunteers will be up for grabs. Made from fully recycled Eco Solution Q Fibre Yarn, these crochet pouches and baskets were part of a commissioned art installation for Art Encounters: Into Softer Worlds in 2021. An exclusive collection of four leather luggage tags, specially designed by local artists Justin Lim and Khairullah Rahim, and curator Kamiliah Bahdar and borne from a collaboration between Art Outreach and leather atelier Bynd Artisan, is also up for purchase.
Image Mission, a charity that helps women gain confidence and secure a better future through employment, will also be putting up preloved clothes for sale. A stylist will be present to assist participants with an Express Colour Check to improve their appearance, and enable them to better dress for success, for a small donation towards funding Image Mission’s activities for women in need.
Admire and bring home crafts, thoughtfully handmade by the beneficiaries of non-profit organisations themselves. These include floral art, personally arranged by seniors at Care Corner Singapore’s Active Ageing Centres, and crafts created through touch by the visually impaired at the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped. Social enterprises SeedFuel will be selling highly innovative upcycled food products, such as upcycled vegan burger buns and cupcake mixes made with upcycled mango and banana flour, while DON8URI is set to satiate the munchies with an assortment of temaki, handmade by advocates for deaf individuals.
This is also the first time that small local businesses, such as independent bookstore Basheer Graphic Books; small batch kombucha brewery company Wild Boocha; and artisan plant boutique The Nursery Singapore, are joining hands with Marina Bay Sands for the Giving Marketplace. They will be committing at least 10 per cent of their proceeds to local charities.
Also a first at the Giving Marketplace is a pet adoption drive, run by the Cat Welfare Society, where cat lovers can consider giving their felines a forever home. In addition, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) will be selling merchandise to raise funds for animals in Singapore.
Doing Good with Food from Marina Bay Sands
This year’s Giving Marketplace will feature an array of delectable treats from Marina Bay Sands’ signature restaurants, specially priced for the public to indulge and play a part for charity at the same time. Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer will be presenting selected favourites from its menu, such as the classic craft All-American Burger, Crispy Chicken Sandwich, and Impossible All American. Sides and snacks, such as Idaho fries and Korean wings, as well as classic milkshakes and beers, are also available.
Guests can also look forward to mouthwatering bites from Yardbird Southern Table & Bar. Its menu includes its classic brunch favourite Biscuit & Gravy, a crispy chicken thigh and bacon sandwiched between a biscuit and topped with country gravy, as well as its tantalising dinner appetizer popcorn shrimp. Wash it down with a bottle of Old Skool Lager or Yardbird Session IPA. All proceeds collected by Marina Bay Sands’ signature restaurants at the Giving Marketplace will be donated to Community Chest, which will benefit over 100 social service agencies.
Marina Bay Sands’ thoughtfully crafted mooncakes will also be available for purchase at the Giving Marketplace. The integrated resort reimagines traditional mooncakes with four contemporary flavours in its Premium Edition (Modern Mooncakes) – XO dried scallops with Wu Liang Ye mooncake; bird’s nest with red date; Jin Hua ham white lotus; and Jin Hua ham white lotus. Guests with a penchant for perennial mooncake flavours can enjoy a box of four baked treats with the Premium Edition (Classic Mooncakes). The Luxury Edition and the Limited Edition mooncakes, perfect for gifting, are available too.
Electrifying tunes and performances by local entertainment talents
To add to the vibrancy of this year’s Festival is a line-up of free electrifying performances by headliners Benjamin Kheng, Tabitha Nauser and Annette Lee, and other talented homegrown artists.
Sing along to classic tunes with music duo Jack & Rai and pop rock band 53A, or get pumped with Shirlyn + the UnXpected and Nation One’s high-octane sets. Singer-songwriter and music producer Crystal Goh, who miraculously found her voice again after losing it to a neurological condition called spasmodic dysphonia, will also be performing original songs.
Bop to the beats spun by DJ Jason Kai and DJ Loki, while the likes of CJ Bubbles, Edwin Ong from The Annoying Brothers duo, and Bryan Wong of Flowart Displays will roam the Festival grounds and dazzle crowds with their array of tricks and talents.
Fun-filled Activities for the Family
Partake in family-friendly activities while overlooking the Festival grounds and the stunning Singapore city skyline. Learn how to build your very own terrarium with Uncle Tony’s Garden, or unleash the artist within with Ccmonsterart’s Ceramic Coaster Painting and Mini Canvas Painting Workshop.
Get crafty with Art for Good and design unique animal bookmarks with pastel nagomi art, a therapeutic artform originating from Japan, or construct little monsters with clay. Mid-Autumn Festival-themed workshops will also be conducted by Wah So Simple, where participants can experiment with flexible plastic sheets and create shrink art or bask in the glow of the full moon with a glass jar light.
Guests may register and buy their tickets here. From now till 1 September 2022, participants can enjoy an early bird discount of 10 per cent when they register with the promo code “SFSF22EARLYBIRD”. Limited slots available only.
Other community events at Marina Bay Sands
Marina Bay Sands continues to be the proud supporter of community events that engage the public at large. The Festival will culminate on 10 September with the physical edition of the annual Community Chest Heartstrings Walk and Vertical Marathon, which Marina Bay Sands has helped to co-organise since 2011.
Flagging off at the Event Plaza, the Heartstrings Walk features a 4km evening Charity Fun Walk at the Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade. Coinciding with this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, lanterns will be given out to the first 3,900 registrants, setting the Marina Bay precinct aglow with a sea of lights.
The registration fee of S$25 per pax, or S$80 per group of four, will benefit over 100 social service agencies and over 200 programmes supported by Community Chest, aiding children with special needs and youth-at-risk, adults with disabilities, persons with mental health conditions, and seniors and families in need. A Virtual Walk is also available for participants to walk at their own time and location.
Registration for the physical edition ends on 9 September 2022. For more details, please visit https://www.comchest.gov.sg/campaigns-events/signature-events/Details/community-chest-heartstrings-walk-2022.
The integrated resort will also be playing host to the 7th Singapore Red Cross Humanitarian Conference 2022 at Sands Expo and Convention Centre on 10 September. Themed ‘Humanitarian Responses to COVID-19: Anxiety & Hope’, this year’s conference will focus on the immediate consequences and long-term implications of the humanitarian actors’ response towards COVID-19.
For the full line-up of participating community partners, performers and workshops, please refer to the accompanying factsheet. More information about the Sands for Singapore Charity Festival can be found at https://www.marinabaysands.com/SandsForSingapore and our Facebook event page https://www.facebook.com/events/583262066588124.
