Residents staying in the western region of Singapore experienced a fun dose of music and art at the Jurong Arts & Music Festival (JAMFest) on 23 November. In its second edition, the event is organised by Taman Jurong Community Club and Jurong Grassroots Organisation, and held in collaboration with the NParks Concert Series in the Park. The objective of the programme is to focus on engaging art and activities by weaving them into pop and rock performances. The event was held at the Lakeside Field adjacent to the newly opened Jurong Lake Garden.
Despite the initial rain, approximately 8,000 visitors – both grown-ups and children – gathered to sing and party with local rock performers such as Supersonic, Jack & Rai, The Switch Gang and Shagies from 5pm to 10.30pm. Apart from enjoying the pop and rock music, attendees also marvelled at the colourful coral reefs made from crochet at one of the booths of the Eco Fest fringe programme. This two-year coral crocheting project was started by YarnbombingSG to highlight coral bleaching and what we can do to protect Singapore’s coral reefs.
There were plenty of activities for children to enjoy too. These included bouncy castles, Zorb balls, recycled craft activity for parent and child, as well as windmill- and terrarium-making. Children and the young at heart also interacted with the event mascots, who brought more vigour to the event.
Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, and Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for Social and Family Development & Second Minister for National Development, and Advisor to Jurong GRC Grassroots Organisations also joined the residents for the musical soiree.
Mr Lee said he had an enjoyable evening at the JAMfest. “There was great music, good food, and a host of outreach booths by schools, community groups and organisations promoting sustainability,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
