A January Sneak Peek Of Chingay Parade 2016 At The Pedestrian Night On Orchard Road

Hi Huneybees,

This is my first blog post of 2016 and I really hope that all my Huneybees have had a great start to the new year as much as I did!

Kicking start to 2016, as the first major event on the new calendar year, was the return of the Orchard Road Pedestrian Night on 2nd January 2016.
 

The spill over effect of the last long weekend of 2015 coupled with Chinese Lunar New Year of Monkey,  which was just slightly more than a month away, created an ideal catalyst to turn on many families' BBB (Buy-Buy-Buy) mode.

To capitalize on this double festive mood of Post-Christmas and Pre-CNY (Chinese New Year), Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA) tailored this January's theme around the major National festival with a local flavor by introducing Chingay 2016 Meet-and-Greet.

This was certainly a great opportunity for the public to have a first glimpse of this year Chingay Parade, which was themed "Lights of Legacy, Brighter Singapore" 《智慧灯海，璀璨新加坡》 to mark the first years of Singapore's next 50.

Obviously this also presented a golden opportunity for the public to have pictures taken with the performers who were beautifully dressed as per the actual parade happening on 19th & 20th February.

Other activities happened at the Pedestrian Night on the famous shopping belt of Singapore, which was closed partially off vehicular traffic between 6pm and 11pm that evening, included:

• Samsung Gear VR Experience
• Stage performances presented by HAG featuring local drummer Brandon Khoo, acapella group MICapella, winners of the 16th Asia Pacific Dance Competition, Max and Chloe of Skin and Bones and the popular speed-painter Vilas Naik from India.

Energetic performance by local drummer Brandon Khoo really got the crowd warmed up for the evening

Despite the great festive atmosphere, I did have the strange feeling walking down Orchard Road underneath the Christmas Street Lighting with most, if not all, facade of Shopping Malls already transformed and decorated in stunning red and gold CNY theme. Guess this was an fine example of how super efficient Singapore really is in terms of getting things done!

Have a GREAT 2016!

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Pedestrian Night On Orchard Road is Back on July till Dec 2015!

Hi Huneybees,

How was your Great Singapore Sales haul coming along? Last weekend, it was amazing shopping fun when we all shopped amongst great music, performance fun! Were you there for the Pedestrian Night On Orchard Road?

This monthly event was back after a two month break and this time with a vengeance plus an extension till December 2015! Shout "Woohoo!" with me to more great shopping fun and deals!

What is the Pedestrian Night all about?
You do not know what you have been missing if you have not attended one before, my huneybees! On the first Saturday evening of every month, the stretch from ION Orchard (Scotts Road) to Paragon (Bideford Junction) will be closed for all traffic, from 6pm to 11pm, and shoppers are free to roam onto the streets! Of course, these Pedestrian Nights are all specially planned with a specific theme every month. And with this comeback, starting from July till December, Orchard Road is yet again transformed into playground for all!

For July, in conjunction with Great Singapore Sale (GSS), it was a tie up with the Orchard Road retail stores for in-mall shopping activities, special deals and contests, on top of an array of bustling activities one would never expect to see on the streets of the iconic shopping boulevard.

Were you there? Did you catch all the activities? Here's a recap of the wonderful night!

Flame of the Forest, a homegrown Instrumental / Fusion band, performed LIVE and also celebrated the launch of their debut EP Album launch. Though it was sweltering hot, hot weather that evening, I couldn't help dancing to their great songs!

Along with that, there were also buskers performances along the whole stretch, the kids were definitely kept entertained whilst mothers did their shoppings! There was balloon sculpturing, wire name twisting crafts along with singing and dancing. *No clowning around though*
 

I think the biggest shopping event for the night has to be at the long time historic local retailer - TANGS. Shopping hours were extended to 11pm that night with The A-list shopping Party for the public to join the A-Listers for a night of shopping and exciting activities, such as pop-up barber (Wah! Shop, shop, also can style hair leh~), sneaker tagging, and Temporary Jewelry Tattoo.

Wefies and selfies were sending cameras clicking non-stop at the free instant photo booth. Why? Coz, there was a chance to win one of three Capisco Puls chairs worth $1299 each, for the first 1000 shoppers. Of course, we had to join in the Singapore spirit and I heard queues started even before the roads were sealed!

And speaking of great deals, shoppers at Metro Paragon also received a $10 Metro Gift Voucher with minimum $100 purchase in a single receipt while enjoying saving up to 50% at its Shoes & Bags Fair.

But I really bagged it big at the Wing Tai Stores - Miss Selfridge, Topshop, Warehouse, Ben Sherman, etc. All those pieces I had been drooling over, were all snagged up by me coz I simply couldn't resist the fabulous saving of additional 15% off on top of the 50% discount on selected pieces!!!

Envy? Well, you better be there for next month's Pedestrian Night On Orchard Road coz we will be all decked in red and white for Singapore's Golden Jubilee on 1 August 2015. Themed as SG50 "Red and White" Party, Orchard Road will be celebrating Singapore's pioneers, stories and national milestones from 1965 to current day through the Pioneer Portraits Initiative. Come walk down Singapore's memory lane through a visual tour of the arts...


The rest of the month's Pedestrian Night On Orchard Road will also feature:

• 5 September 2015: Rev-up on Orchard (Fast and furious shopping fun as F1 roars through the night)
• 3 October 2015: Family Fiesta (Expect a carnival of activities for the entire family)
• 7 November 2015: Fashion with Friends and Family (Time to style yourself up and take your best shot!)
• 5 December 2015:  Christmas on A Great Street (Immerse yourself in the sea of bright and tinkering festive lights).

Thanks to the great team behind the Pedestrian Night On Orchard Road! I can't wait to be there for more of these nights! Thank you to organizers - Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA) and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) for working tirelessly behind-the-scenes to ensure that the whole fanfair went smoothly and safely.

See you there next month! :)

Don’t forget to stay tuned to my blog / like my blog’s Facebook page / follow me @huney_84 on Twitter & Instagram  for the latest updates!

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Samsung Fashion Steps Out 2013 Is Coming This 4th May

Hi Huneybees,

Samsung Fashion Steps Out 2013 is back for its 4th installment and this time, it's presented by Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA) and Samsung is the Presenting Sponsor. Happening on 4th May 2013, FSO 2013 will be putting the spotlight on the chic and en vogue with an exciting line-up of fashion shows, pop-up stores and exclusive MasterCard® shopping promotions.

For the first time in FSO’s history, Samsung is the Presenting Sponsor and will headline 2013’s biggest fashion event of the year with the much-anticipated launch of the Samsung GALAXY S 4 LTE.

FSO is an annual highlight organised by Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA) and aimed at bringing fashion to the man on the street. This year, ORBA is pleased to have Samsung on board as the Presenting Sponsor of this iconic fashion extravaganza – Samsung Fashion Steps Out 2013 – on the Great Street.

This year, the precinct is clothed in floral finery as it literally puts on colours from the Spring / Summer 2013 runway palette. Selected trees on both sides of the shopping boulevard are dressed in vivid hues and effervescent prints – all created with the help of Samsung Note 10.1 LTE by budding designers from Raffles Design Institute (RDI).

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The prints were all inspired by flowers and nature. Truly brightening for the trees along Orchard Road.

On 28th March, I was treated to a preview of what to expect for FSO 2013 and all I can say is I can't wait and seriously, colours are a must if you are attending this big yearly event.

We had a live demonstration of the FSO 2013 t-shirt customization by local designer Ash Lee. We kinda had a lesson in DIY T-shirt conversion, so that we could customise the T-shirts that we were given and wear them on 4th May.

We were then ushered outside to the foyer for some light refreshments alongside the live band's performance and not before long, the models strut down Orchard Road from Ngee Ann City, across the road. They were all decked in the FSO 2013 T-shirts that were fully customized and gave inspiration to us....

Afterwhich, it was time for some fashion show whilst we enjoyed our Magnum Ice Creams...

There were 2 fashion shows featuring the latest Spring Summer looks by Etro and Pois' presentation of Mary Katrantzou and Manish Arora. Some pieces were very eye catching and I heard so many ladie ssaying that they will wear them!

Etro

Pois'

Orchard Fashion Runway (4 May)

The highlight of Samsung FSO 2013, the Orchard Fashion Runway will transform the street into a glamorous fashion runway, showcasing the latest Spring / Summer offerings of local and international brands and the highly anticipated new Samsung GALAXY S 4 LTE.

Orchard Road, stretching from Scotts / Paterson junction to Bideford junction, will be closed to traffic on this one day, where about 150 models will take to the streets in the couture of the season from Fausto Puglisi, Victoria Beckham,  Coach, J.Press, Marks & Spencer, Robinsons, Adolfo Dominguez and Maria Grachvogel, styled by Official Make-up Shiseido and Official Hair Shiseido Professional. During this period, Orchard Road malls will still be open for business and will remain accessible to traffic via Paterson Road, Orchard Link and Bideford Road.

Members of the public are welcome to attend this once-a-year fashion extravaganza in alfresco style at 8:30pm.

Launch of Orchard Road mobile app

In conjunction with FSO 2013, the first-ever Orchard Road mobile app “@Orchard” will be launched and made available for download from 28 Mar onwards. Free for both Andriod and iOS users, this app will help shoppers navigate around the street and provide a listing of Orchard Road stores, the latest promotions and newest events. In line with the season, the app will also feature exclusive video interviews with international and local brands on their trendiest Spring / Summer 2013 collection. Progressively, users will also find up-to-date information on the availability of carpark lots, as well as traffic conditions on Orchard Road.

Fashion Steps Out 2013 on Clozette (8 Apr – 10 May)

Clozette has been appointed the Official Fashion Social Network for FSO 2013 and will be hosting a series of social engagement activities throughout the festival. Look forward to live coverage of key events, an Instagram photo contest and a fun-filled fashion memory game with $6,000 worth of shopping vouchers to be won. All these are happening at www.clozette.co/fashionstepsout

Here's more details on the Fringe Events and Activities happening along Orchard Road for the weeks to come...

Fashion Pops (12 – 21 April) @ Mandarin Gallery

Whoever says fashion is merely a reflection of what comes off the runways during fashion week should definitely pay the Fashion Pops a visit. Featuring vibrant booths carrying exclusive buys for the season and a celebrity cover exhibit by Harper’s BAZAAR, Fashion Pops will offer an endless array of fun and excitement any shopaholic would be delighted to get lost in.

For more information, please visit www.orchardroad.org/fso or www.facebook.com/fashionstepsout.

Instagram - #fashionstepsout

More photos from the media preview could be viewed at my album here.

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