2 EVENTS April-August 2017 The Spotlight
2 EVENTS April-August 2017 The Spotlight
“ Flea market ” phrase used too loosely
The Retro Factory ’ s founder said that there are only three genuine flea markets in Singapore .
BY JAMIE LEO
Antique period pieces and hundredyear-old medals were among other exclusive pieces sold at Katong Square during the monthly Vintage Flea Market from May 12 to 14 .
The event , organised by The Retro Factory , saw a total of approximately 20 booths participating and over 1,000 visitors . It is hailed “ Singapore ’ s only true blue vintage flea market ” on their Facebook page , and houses resident booths that sell vintage pieces .
The Retro Factory ’ s founder , Gary Tan , shared that one of the reasons behind him setting up the flea market was because he felt Singapore badly needed a flea market to aid the culture and heritage . He said that the Japanese came during World War II and “ looted all our forefathers ’ gold , crystal and silver ”, and for that reason Singapore ’ s precious treasures were “ stolen from us ”. He added that the Generation X today are buying the treasures back from eBay to “ rebuild our heritage ”.
Booths at the flea market had an array of items ranging from vinyl records to vin-
A Big Learning Classroom
Primary school students showcased their hard work as part of the Tampines Learning Festival .
BY WANI IRDINA
The third edition of the annual Tampines Learning Festival on May 21 introduced many new booths , revolving around the theme ‘ Environment and Culture ’.
Tampines ’ annual event , Tampines Learning Festival , took place on May 21 incorporating the theme ‘ Environment and Culture ’. The theme was decided after participating centres came up with various themes and cast their votes . This year , organisers brought in six primary schools to be part of the booths for this year ’ s festival , making up a total of 42 booths as compared to the 36 booths last year .
Chongzheng Primary School , one of the six primary schools , came up with keychain making as well as storytelling sessions . Their booth is run by the Our Kampung Kindness ( OKK ) team of the school ’ s inno club that aims to spread empathy and kindness through their empathy storybook . Ms Tan Mei San , a teacher from Chongzheng Primary School , said that the story was written and illustrated by a team of 15 students since last September and is currently being published .
The story revolves around a character named Shoe Koala who loves making shoes for his friends but made the wrong shoe-size or type of shoes for them . Through these experiences , Shoe Koala ’ s mother guided him tage jewellery , remaining consistent with the flea market ’ s vintage theme .
“ The term flea market is used too loosely . Everybody that sets up a table and chair and sells something , they call it a flea market but that ’ s actually wrong ,” he said . He mentioned the China Square Central and the Sungei Road Thieves Market as other genuine flea markets and added that everything else “ is not a flea market ”.
Sarah Chin who sells vintage clothing said , “ What I ’ m curating is quite niche , so it ’ s best to stick with the same genre and style of flea market .” She shared that throughout the past four flea markets she has participated in under The Retro Factory , there have been increasing sale profits and a visibly expanding pool of customers . “ It is growing , even to the point that people order online from me instead of coming to the flea market ,” she said .
Su Paing , 17 , a student who was attending the vintage flea market for the second time , said she felt that there are not many authentic flea markets in Singapore . She added that it was interesting that items at flea markets once had sentimental meaning to someone else .
Participants worked together to paint the planks at the Passion- Arts booth . Photo : Wani Irdina . through to put himself in his friends ’ shoes by practising empathy .
“ It was a good opportunity to share empathy to the pre-schoolers ,” said Ms Tan , talking about their booth .
Another primary school that took part in this event was St Hilda ’ s Primary School . Their booth held a mini exhibition where the student leaders showcased the art projects of their graduated students who used recycled materials to depict the damage of pollution .
Even with new booths set up , many of those from the previous years ’ Tampines Learning Festival returned . One of which is the painting station run by PassionArts . This year , participants painted planks with drawings of people in different ethnic costumes , following the theme ‘ culture ’.
When asked to share her thoughts on the event , Mdm Roslinah Bte Jem , a participant and teacher from Meridian Primary School , said that she found the event “ enriching ” and used this opportunity to “ gain ideas ” to teach her lower primary students .
The Tampines Learning Festival started in 2015 to create opportunity for family bonding as well as to provide a platform for children “ as part of the extension of their learning experience from the classroom to an outdoor area ”, and had been a “ signature event for Tampines GRC ”, said Mr Benny Yeo , organising chairman for Tampines Learning Festival .
Jason Ratna , 52 , a collector who has been accumulating vintage items for 35 years , however , said that people are no longer concerned in the nostalgic factor and only “ chase after money ”, referring to the monetary value of vintage pieces . “ The whole vintage thing , you just tell them vintage , they ’ re not interested ,” he said .
Jason Ratna has been collecting antique pieces including war medals for 35 years . Photo : Jamie Leo .
Revitalisation of 500-yearold dying language
First ever Kristang language festival concludes first in five phases of 30-year plan .
BY JOANNE MUK
With less than 100 Kristang speakers left in Singapore , the Kristang revitalisation team hopes to strengthen the endangered language by 2045 .
Kristang , a Portuguese-Eurasian language , is a mixture of mostly Portuguese vocabulary and Malay grammar , alongside influence from other languages like Dutch , Hakka and more . A Portuguese settlement married Malacca locals which gradually built the language , and the culture packaged with it .
Mr Wong , director of Festa di Papia Kristang ( Kristang language festival ) and his team devised a 5-phase plan , spanning across 30 years , which includes Kristang language classes and the language festival as the objective for the first phase to raise awareness , with Mr Wong even claiming the first phase to be “ very successful ” as 300 people had attended the language classes and 1,160 registered for the festival .
The Kristang language festival , which took place over May 20 and 21 , had programmes ranging from panel discussions to Kristang culinary and dance exposure and even a Kristang board game made just for the festival .
The Eurasian food workshop was one of the most popular programmes , with the room nearly packed to the brim from participants watching as the host prepares Eurasian cuisine , which they then get to taste soon after . The host , Mary Gomes , is a proud owner of two published cookbooks and her very own eatery .
Mr Tan hopes that his vintage flea market will help to educate and encourage the public to find out more about the heritage of Singapore . He added , “ The dream is to have a seven day a week market , with a carnival festival atmosphere where not just Singaporeans can enjoy but also it will be a strong tourist pool .”
Another honourable mention of the festival would be the panel discussion on the future of Kristang , featuring Sara Santa Maria , a Kristang teacher , Elisabela Larrea a researcher of Macanese Creole theatre and director Kevin Martens Wong . Ms Maria and Ms Larrea shared that the best way to reach out to children , for a language to sustain through generations , would be through cultural ethics such as table manners and eating or participating in recreational activities together . Mr Wong also added that children only pick up a language if it is not “ pushed on ” them .
Alike the festivals ’ committee , the festival attendees also wanted to see Kristang healthy again . Esther Leong , 29 , said that as long as the language has “ some ( official ) status given ” in Singapore , it would be of satisfactory . However , she does not believe that Kristang will play a part in the Singaporean identity as it would need to be “ recognised officially ” by having it in the textbooks of students .
In continuation with the 5-phase preservation plan , the other four phases consist of furthering their Kristang classes which will cater more to children , creating curricula to train future Kristang teachers and eventually , building courses targeting primary and secondary school students , which are not to be part of the Singapore school system due to unwanted political complications that may arise .
“ We need people to keep coming forward to , to be interested in working with the language and to help the community .” Mr Wong said , believing that that is the only way that Kristang can be sustained .
Kevin Martens Wong conducting a basic Kristang language class during the festival . Photo : Joanne Muk .