It was a lovely Sunday morning! We woke up early to participate in the Rise & Shine Carnival - Singapore's largest breakfast fiesta at The Lawn@Marina Bay. The carnival aims to bond families together and to promote healthy lifestyle through this inaugural breakfast picnic. There were also a line up of activities for the kiddos to engage in.

We were one of the early birds to set up our picnic mat and munch on our breakfast (specially prepared by Hubby)!

 It was a windy morning - perfect day for kite flying. So cozy and relaxing that I almost wanted to catch up on my beauty sleep!

Free apples were given out and it was a bonus to our breakfast menu.

Its WORK-out TIME and I'm not surprise to see Gladys queuing up for bouncy castles.   

Gladys is a natural when it comes to sports... She loves to engage herself in physical activities and takes pride in completing them.

Stilt-walkers and mascots making their appearances and taking photos with the families.

The response at the Rise & Shine Carnival had been encouraging with many parents and children, waking up early to participate in the event. Free tattoos, balloons were given away and we saw 8 adorable babies with their beautiful mummies, competing in the Yummy Mummy, Yummy Baby contest.

We were also excited to join other families in setting the record for the largest breakfast picnic turnout in the Singapore Book of Records! ^_^

Picnicking with a group of friends is always fun and merrier. Denver was exceptionally happy to take a well deserved break from his preparation for CA1 which starts the next day.  
 

 A game of frisbee with friends. :)

If you missed out the Rise & Shine Carnival last week, watch out for the Rise & Shine Expo at Suntect Convention Hall from 27-29 September!

We dropped by Punggol Waterway later in the evening to witness its official opening. There were already a crowd on the bridge and along the waterway when we arrived. Kites flew high in the sky and music filled the air.

Today, our good friend, Jo also joined us in the Fiesta. Together, we were the "Hand-in-Hand Wave" participants. The 1000 participants formed a straight line along the waterway as we hold hands together to make the Singapore "Punggol" Wave. We also get to collect our goodie bags after the event. Nice!

The sun is setting as we await the ceremony to begin.

More crowd gathered near the Heartwave Wall and we need to find a viewing spot. We were lucky to get the goodie bags earlier as there are mats, bottled water and cakes within! We laid the mats on the grass field and had a mini picnic as the night falls.

Awaiting for the arrival of our Guest-of-Honour: Mr Lee Hsien Loong

The ceremony begins!

We loved the Fireworks!

Wow...So red and fiery.

After the celebrations, we make our way back to the carpark and spotted the completed sandcastle.  It was spectacular. :)

I enjoyed the night view along the waterway where some call it the "Venice of Punggol".  It is truly a great park and everyone should help to take care of it, keep it clean and treasure it.

If you passed by Sengkang CC, you will not miss the Great World Carnival that was officially opened by Guest of Honour, DPM Teo Chee Hean on 22nd Jan. He is also accompanied by other MPs as well as the cast from the lastest locally produced movie (directed by Kelvin Tong) - It's A Great Great World.

Event: It's A Great Great World Carnival (大世界)
Date: 22 Jan to 20 Feb 2011
Time: 6pm to 10:30pm Daily
Venue: Sengkang CC Hardcourt (Opposite Compass Point)

I heard about the 3 amusement parks that was very popular in Singapore back in the older days. (New World, Great World and I think Happy World). Unfortunately, I did not have memories going to the parks since my parents were always busy working and we cannot afford the additional spending on leisure.

Brief history
The Great World Amusement Park, also known as 大世界 ("Tua Seh Kai" in Hokkien) was situated along Zion, River Valley and Kim Seng Road which is where Great World City Shopping Mall currently stands. The landowner, Lee Choon Yung, developed the site (which used to be a Chinese cemetery) into an amusement park in the 1930s. Due to the lack of business, it was sold to the Shaw Brothers in 1941. WWII broke out very soon after and the park was transformed into a prison for Australian POWs which led to a thrive in gambling activities.

After the end of the Japanese Occupation, cultural activities were revived and the park was back to it's glory days with carnival rides, restaurants and theatres namely Canton, Atlantic, Sky and Globe. With the bloom of the television era, supermarkets and pasar malam, business at the amusement parks came to a standstill. Great World Amusement Park was eventually closed on 31st March, 1964.

Source: http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1046_2006-06-09.html

The mini version of the Great World Amusement Park has been remade in Sengkang (Thanks to Uncle Ringo) after so many years and the children has been noising us to go since it's opening. Today is the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year and since there are no visitings to go, we took the children to the carnival after our dinner.

To play the rides, you will need to purchase the tokens at the counter. Each token cost $3 and for every 6 tokens purchased, you will receive a free limited addition souvenior coin. Hubby bought 6 tokens which cost $18 already. Denver and Gladys gets 3 tokens each to decide which ride they prefer to play. Frankly speaking, $3 per ride is kind of expensive and difficult to manage especially if the family has more children. Some rides need 2 tokens to play and so it is going to burn a big hole in Daddy's and Mommy's pocket if the children are going to play all the rides!

Some of the rides within the carnival include: Swinging Chair, Mini Viking, Samba Helicopter, Ferris Wheel, Train, Convoy, Galloper, Carousel, Boat, Bumper Car, Meteorite, Paratropper and various game stalls.

Gladys gets to have fun with one of the jumping castle and had her train and boat ride. Denver on the other hand, chose to take the Bumper car ride with Mommy and also had his luck at one of the popping balloon game stall.

Gladys 'rowing' her boat. 

There are so many tempting rides for the kiddos and the queue was not too bad. The Bumper car ride is quite a good deal since it is 2 tokens per car which means one parent and child can sit and play. If only the pricing per token is cheaper, the children will have more fun trying out the other rides. ^_^

Photos: AP / Sucheta Das, Manish Swarup, Biswaranjan Rout

February 2, in the city of Rio de Janeiro has launched a traditional carnival. Rio de Janeiro is among the biggest cities in South America and the most popular of cultural celebrations is the Carnaval.

Photos: ©Reuters, AP, AFP, DPA