In continuation of tradition, City Harvest Church (Singapore) held its annual candlelight service during the weekend before Christmas, on 20 December 2009 at Singapore Expo.

Senior pastor Kong Hee shared a simple but resounding sermon on the five things about God we should know — that God is wonderful, He is our Counselor, our Prince of Peace, the Mighty God and finally, the Everlasting Father. He also talked about lives changed by the intervening power of God, and capped the sermon with an altar call.

When the lights dimmed, the flame that was lit on stage passed on to the congregation, each member holding a candle in a cardboard wax holder. Soon, the whole hall was illuminated with tiny amber glows. It was a captivating sight that aptly underscored the message of Christmas — that One was born in the midst of darkness to lead the way. The service ended with the singing of carols and exchange of greetings, in anticipation of the upcoming Christmas Day.

PHOTOS: Geoffery Chow, Michael Chan and Daniel Poh

That weekend also saw the return of Kong’s wife, Sun, an international pop artist who has been based in the United States for the last few years. She was back for a long-awaited, week-long Christmas reunion with her family.

Three months of practice culminated in an evening of groove at the annual O School Recital, held at the Republic Cultural Centre on 13 December 2009. The recital aimed to showcase the talents of about 250 handpicked students from the O School performing arts center.

The evening kicked off in high gear with an energetic B-boy number that wowed the crowd with fancy footwork, spins, turns and freezes. The other 14 performances spanned genres of street jazz, hip hop, popping (involving jerky moves) and reggae. While most of the dances were slickly executed such that they belied the dancers’ lack of professional experience, the best-received performances were those that incorporated comical touches into their repertoire. A new dance style, waacking (a ’70s dance style focusing on dynamic arm movements), was also introduced at this year’s recital.

The costumes were equally varied, ranging from baggy sweatshirts to metallic leggings, some vampy and some Goth, but all inspired. One group even performed semi-blindfolded in see-through gauze. Full-time dance instructor Gin Lam, 24, said, “Throughout the years, we’ve seen the students’ skills and techniques improve, but beyond that we also want to see them grow in terms of crowd interaction.”

Cheering the dancers on was a 1,000-strong turnout of mostly youth, which also included celebrities Patricia Mok and Nat Ho, who had previously collaborated with O School for the President’s Star Charity show in October. “It was very inspiring seeing the performances, especially for us entertainers, as we know the value of dance in our everyday work,” said Mok. Another supporter, Elaine Wong, 57, a nurse, who was there to watch her daughter perform, said, “Watching these young people having such fun while pursuing their passion makes me feel young myself.”

About three quarters of O School’s enrolment comprise polytechnic students, with the rest being working adults. On the more difficult aspects of the rehearsals, Andee Chua, 19, a Year 3 polytechnic student said, “One of the most challenging aspects was definitely working together as a whole team, but that’s the beauty of it all — it’s always a team effort, never an individual one.” Awards were also presented for four categories — Most Improved Dancer, Most Loyal Dancer, Best Female Dancer and Best Male Dancer.

PHOTOS: Albert Soh

The night ended with a series of performances from none other than the O Crew — a group of 15 elite dancers from the school, 10 of whom are instructors themselves. Delivering one of the standout solo performances of the night was freelance dance instructor Benedict Koh, 26, who fused popping dance moves with hip hop music instead of the more conventional ’70s funk numbers.

Said Kenny Low, director of the four-year-old O School, “O School is about bringing street dance to the masses and creating a platform where dancers from different institutes can gather,” What’s in the pipeline? Having secured the rights to Dance Delight (a major street dance competition held annually in Paris, New York and Japan, among others), it looks like O School will be hosting the biggest dance competition this part of the world in the coming year.

Apart from decking the halls with lights and Christmas trees, receiving presents and having good food, Christmas is also a time of giving, sharing and celebrating the kindness of the human spirit.

On 5 December, a group of volunteers visited Bright Hill Evergreen Home at 21 Senja Road. In prepping for the Christmas spirit, the team played games, caroled and brought gifts for the elderly at the nursing home. With the tunes of traditional Christmas carols and mandarin oldies by artistes such as Deng Li Jun, the atmosphere began to lighten up. The normal quiet Saturday transformed into a joyful afternoon of singing and celebration.

With the many charity organizations in Singapore, it is easy to forget the volunteer work that people do. Not in this case. The event, spearheaded by Dorothy Ng, started off as an independent effort of a group of people passionate to help make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. With this determination, the team sent out request letters to different homes, without any representations from any corporate organizations and called for the help of many volunteers through their basic social network. To date, the team has already frequented many homes and aims to extend their outreach. However, they are not without purpose.

PHOTOS: Dorothy Ng

In contributing to the society, Ng and her team hope to help volunteers establish a sense of self-worth and motivation for themselves, living out the idea of feeling encouraged by being an encouragement. In the phenomenon of rising rates of people affected by depression, our community needs to learn to share the vision that by adding joy to someone’s lives, we may be able to find our own purpose. What is more meaningful is that the spirit of giving is expressed during the season of Christmas.

Get out the popcorn! I’m going to curl in bed with The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast for old times sake. Disney’s retelling of the children’s classic The Princess and the Frog was a cosy reminder of my childhood. Catchy Broadway tunes, 2D characters, and of a course, a Princess, a Prince and a happily ever after.

But times have changed since Happily Ever Afters came along, and Disney is going with the flow as well. Princesses no longer lie around waiting for their Prince to come give them a kiss (remember Sleeping Beauty?) and they no longer have fairy godmothers to save them. Now they’re hard-working ladies who think for themselves.

Tiana, a waitress at a beat-up restaurant is working to fulfill her father’s dream of buying a dilapidated building and converting it into a restaurant. She finally gets her wish when her best friend Charlotte (the town’s local Paris Hilton) holds a giant party to welcome a Prince and hires Tiana to cater.

Sadly she is outbid and finds out she needs more money to get her building. Meanwhile, said Prince — who longs for freedom from being royalty — gets caught by the local Shadowman, who, in a catchy song and dance, proclaims he has friends on the other side to help him take over the town. He turns Prince Naveen into a frog and turns the Prince’s butler into the Prince instead.

The frog prince, who is desperate to find a Princess who will kiss him and turn him back, hops into Charlotte’s room and thinks Tiana, who has changed into her Princess costume, is the Princess and puckers up. Surprise! Tiana is turned into a frog instead.

Both go on an adventure through the rich New Orleans bayou to find Mama Odie, a Cajun voodoo lady, to turn them back. And like all Disney films, they pick up two companions, a trumpet-tooting alligator and a Cajun firefly who’s in love with a star. And as all Disney tales go, frog and frog fall in love, while singing, of course.

Tiana is charming as Disney’s new Princess. The first ever African-American Princess has the spark of a real woman who works hard for what she wants. She gives us working girls out there hope that there might be a happily ever after even for the most pessimistic of females. This Princess is able to charm little girls into looking up to her. In one particular scene where Tiana is tempted to give the Shadowman his magical talisman, one little girl in the cinema screamed out “No! No! Don’t give it to him!” amidst chuckles from the adults.

The magic of this Disney film isn’t just in the storybook cliches, but it’s also in the rich New Orleans settings where the bayou is rich in jazz, the Blues and delicious gumbo. The Cajun accent is hilarious as well and gives more heart to the film.

Without a doubt, this movie isn’t just for the kids, but serves as a great reminder on why heart-warming, 2D, family films will never die.

Rating:

A CONSORTIUM of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) recently broke new ground for the private sector in Singapore. These SMEs are pumping an estimated US$1.5 billion (approximately S$2 billion) into developing an eco-park in Hangzhou, China. Past efforts of such scale in China have been undertaken by the Singapore government or government-linked companies, but never solely by private companies.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed on 24 November, between the consortium, called Cleantech Partners Pte Ltd and the Hangzhou municipal government to jointly master-plan, develop and promote the Hangzhou-Singapore Eco-Park (HSEP). The 500 mu (about 35ha) HSEP will comprise commercial and retail buildings, service apartments and eventually, residential buildings and light industrial zones.

The HSEP aims to have at least half its energy use derived from renewable sources and will be utilizing green strategies for water management, waste and by-product exchanges, transportation and green buildings to enhance the competitiveness of businesses located within the park.

Steven Lim, chief executive officer of RSTN Consulting Pte Ltd, who is also the chairman of the consortium explained that the potential of entering into the green business in China is immense, because Chinese President Hu Jintao recently announced that China will play its part in combating climate change by significantly reducing its carbon emissions by 2020.

Hangzhou was chosen as a suitable location for several reasons. Situated a mere 180km southwest of economic epicenter Shanghai, Hangzhou is one of the most renowned and prosperous cities in China. One of the seven ancient capitals of China, Hangzhou is rich in historical and cultural heritage. Well-known for its iconic West Lake, Hangzhou also boasts beautiful scenery.

PHOTOS: Yuan Wenling

The city is home to some 56 universities, including Zhejiang University, one of the top-rated universities in China, resulting in a highly educated population. Hangzhou-ans are reported to have the highest happiness index across China.

Lim concluded that ultimately, the Cleantech aims to “build an eco-park that is iconic for Singapore, setting a standard for future SMEs and even government-linked companies when they enter the Chinese market.”

Ayam penyet

Being lovers of all things fried and spicy, it’s really no surprise Singaporeans have taken an instant liking to the Indonesian ayam penyet. Not to mention how it bears certain similarities to perennially popular Hainanese chicken rice but laced with a fiery Indonesian attitude — a formula for predictable success here.

As it usually is with all popular dishes, ayam penyet stalls have been popping up en masse all over Singapore, and we find it our imperative to sift out the best from the dry and tasteless ones.

We love that the one at Sri Bistari Changi Village makes the cut with us. Despite the unavoidable queue that trademarks all popular Singaporean food stalls, the fragrant and fluffy (though we’re guessing hardly authentically Indonesian) Hainanese chicken rice, the accompanying MSG-yummy soup and stinging sweet sambal chilli made us most happy in the belly indeed. The chicken was wonderfully tender and well-seasoned, and tasted even better with a heap of the spicy but flavorful sambal chilli.

Just don’t try this without stocking up a good round of iced drinks and tissues at your table. Things could get ugly.

Overall Rating:

As told to Elizabeth Low

Contributed by Jeremy Chua

City News met up with legendary singer/songwriter, Bob Fitts. Fitts was in Singapore to songlead at the nation’s annual Festival of Praise held in August 2009.

CN: Your trip to Singapore this time round is a long one, a couple of months to be exact. It sure feels like something is brewing. Could you tell us more?

Fitts: Singapore is an island that has become a center for missions. In fact, I remember our very first trip to Singapore was a stopover on the way to Pakistan. That was a long time ago and we’ve got a lot of history here on this island. We want to use Singapore as a base, to go out and do some missions outreach to different nations such as Indonesia, India, Korea, Malaysia and so forth.

Singapore is a place where God is going to do some amazing things, and we just feel so blessed to be here.

CN: You mentioned about having a history here in Singapore. Can you tell us, in your observation, what are some of the significant changes, particularly in the spiritual realm, that have taken place over the years?

Fitts: We come from Hawaii, which is also an island, like Singapore. So in in a lot of ways, they’re very similar to here, with lots of different cultures and folks. But I have seen an amazing, amazing change here. Particularly in the areas where I have an involvement in, which would be in the area of music — praise and worship. There’s just so much of good music coming out of Singapore now — many worshippers, worship leaders, bands, musicians, artists — the whole gammon. I’ve seen a huge increase in that. This is something to be excited about.

CN: What are your thoughts on the current praise and worship scene? How has it evolved over the last twenty years?

Fitts: Styles have changed and modified over the years, according to different things that are happening in different parts of the world at any given time. But these things are fairly cyclical; they’ll come and go. Fundamentally, the passion for Jesus is really the heart of it all. It takes on all different kinds of styles and modes, all of which embraces one thing, and that is, whatever you do, do it with all your mind, with all your soul, for the sake and for the name of Jesus.

PHOTOS: Lam Hui Ching

CN: So what’s in store for you over the next couple of years?

Fitts: There are two things that we’re working on. We just released a new CD, Restore, which talks about the whole theme of Christianity — restoration. But there’s another side of things that my wife and I have been working on for a while, for about 15 years now. The song ‘I Want to Know You’ is a worship song that has been really popular for a while, and I was singing it one time when I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me saying, “Bob, do you really want to touch Me? Do you really want to see my face? If you want that, then here’s what you do. I want you to go and take care of orphans and widows. Jesus said these words, ‘when you feed the poor and take care of the sick, you’re actually touching Me.’” And I thought to myself, “Wow, how can I as a worship leader, or even an individual experience more of Jesus?” So my wife and I have been doing this since then — raising funds for orphans and widows. A lot of folks are doing that today, which is great. We actually do experience an aspect of worship. Most of our worship is to the unseen realm but when you actually touch a widow and put your arms around her and say, “These are the arms of Jesus,” He will praise you in return. Because He says, “When you do this to the least of these, you do it to Me.”

More than just fishballs or pingpong, the third musical ever staged by YoungTalents provided its audience with many different perceptive to life. “Fishball Pingpong” was put together by a 123-member cast, with 21 persons with special needs involved (more than the previous two years).

Over 5 and 6 December 2009, “Fishball Pingpong” took to the stage at the Lee Foundation Theatre, with a total of 1,319 attendees. This event was graced by well-known local personalities like Miss Irene Ng (MP for Tampines GRC), Mr Lee Suan Hiang (Executive Director of the Arts and Culture Development Office (MICA), Senior Advisor to NAC and the National Heritage Board), Miss Penny Low (President and Founder of Social Innovation Park), Mr Patrick Han (Director, Quality Management Division (People’s Association)), Mr Lim Ngee Huat (Chairman of Mountbatten Citizen Consultative Committee) and Miss Elim Chew (President & Founder of 77th Street).

The musical preluded with a folklore of how pingpong originated, as told by Grandpa Ong (played by Adrian Cheung) to her granddaughter, Candy (played by Sissy Ng). This affinity between the two generations was repeatedly emphasized throughout the production, with the advice continually given by Grandpa Ong. The lead actors and actresses formed the HDB gang and brought the house down when they sang a chicken version of “Old Macdonald” to provoke Candy to join the national table-tennis team after being talent-scouted by the national coach. For the very first time, we saw how a saucepan can be used in place of a table tennis bat at the game – for Candy was more accustomed to cooking fishball noodles than sports of any sorts.

The introduction of a novice to the national table tennis team greatly provoked Song Jiale (played by Rachel Lim), a foreign talent, who was striving to win the gold medal. The hostility between the two built up until Candy and Julie (played by Emiko Ong) saved her from having her arms being broken by hired gangsters. From then on, the friendship between Song Jiale and Candy continued to blossom as they tackled with issues of identity, perceptions and eventually, the kidnap of Julie by the opponent table tennis team manager.

Grandpa Ong played a pivotal role in Candy’s life by providing her with guidance and advice, not making the decisions for her. Quoting from him, “ I nudged you in a certain direction but you are the one that makes the decision for yourself. Learn to follow your heart.” This was but one of the many other golden words he spoke. A key highlight of the show was the table-tennis playing and fighting scenes. Squeals and laughter could be heard as these scenes were tactfully carried out by the leads with the help of “ninjas in black”. The climax of them all? The slow-motion reenactment of moves and when Grandpa Ong fights off the dozen of little hooligans singlehandedly at a go to rescue his granddaughter Julie.

With help from the lighting crew, the use of blackout and flashes of light rendered the particular fighting scene greater credibility and left the crowds in ‘whoos’ and ‘ahs’. The victory of Grandpa Ong was shared by the audience as they clapped thunderously, seeing the “hooligans” lying on the ground. The entire crowd roared when the people with special needs came together to give a martial arts display. The cheers got deafening when we witnessed them breaking boards. The shouts that came from the cast as they carried out their display serenaded the entire theatre. As the cast concluded the production with a farewell song, the entire audience gave a standing ovation. And we saw some of the people around us wiping away the tears in their eyes, obviously touched by what was brought to them on stage.

When interviewed after the musical, Ms Penny Low highlighted “The use of a traditional storyline to incorporate current issues like the Youth Olympics and table tennis is very well-done and very relatable to the audience.” Being a former table tennis player in her younger days, she found the table tennis scenes particularly interesting to watch as of how real the movements were to life.

Mr Lee Suan Hiang also added “Getting so many children from different backgrounds and schools to put forth a performance of such high standard is commendable and will help build their confidence in future.” One would find the entire production characterized by a lot of “local flavors” with the occasional sprinkle of dialects and Singlish in both speech and rendition of songs.

KC Gan, music producer, shares that as he wrote the songs, he exposed himself continually to children songs, cartoon songs, Japanese anime and especially soundtracks from the movie “Ponyo”. What left the greatest impact on him in his experience is, although the children are not as vocally developed as the adults that he work with, they are given the opportunities to pursue their interest. Like what he says, “You will never know what they are able to do in ten to twenty years’ time but at least they are given the opportunity to start now.”

Brian Lim, 15, Catholic High School, took to the stage for the very first time in a musical as a lead. He loved the experience and particularly enjoyed the opportunity to work alongside her sister, Natasha Lim, 14, whom he supposedly fell in love with in the show. He found himself sharing a closer relationship with his sister through the musical.

PHOTOS: Albert Soh

When we interviewed Emiko Ong, 8, who acted as Julie, on her experience? She enjoyed herself thoroughly although it was very tiring. And her greatest challenge in the show? Restricting her movements when she was kidnapped in the show but she got around to overcoming the fear. She was no doubt, very well-loved by the audience as she was continually being approached after the show.

Eileen Toh, President of YoungTalents, remarked on how she saw the children involved overcame their fears and learnt how to deal with stress through the preparation. And to her, she wants to let all of them know, “I believe in you.” And more than just building up the confidence of these children and to cultivate a positive self-esteem in them, the cast is also in turn empowered to give back to society in a “Kids Give Back Too” project.

Invitations were extended to children from the Darul Ihsan Orphanage and lower-income group families to catch the show. Proceeds from the musical will be used to makeover four study rooms at the orphanage. The cast also will then be visiting the orphanage thereafter.

The Empowering Single Parents’ Network (ESPN) conducted three workshops on 21 November 2009 on Saturday at The Riverwalk in 20 Upper Circular Road.

The workshops were designed to equip participants with the right skills and knowledge to enhance three areas of their lives, namely financial management (Money Sense), home care (Ted Your Handyman) and self-esteem building (Image Asset Management).

Speaker for Money Sense was Vincent Chang, Director of Financial Services in Great Eastern Life. With 15 years of finance management experience under his belt, he delivered accurate information and details of the current market situation in a comprehensive manner, aiming to allow participants to better make informed decisions. He touched on major world economic issues that affect volatility; how the nomination of beneficiary rule has changed in Singapore; and the benefits of medical insurance. The theme of his session rang strong as he urged participants to give thought to how they handled their money, protect it, spend it wisely, invest intelligently and have a purpose for their hard earned money. The Question and Answer session proved to be an engaging one as many of the participants had a lot to ask. 36 year old sales executive, Hasan said that he ”learned about nomination rules and how to protect” his money. Another participant, Iris commented “I’m taking home a changed mindset toward my finances.”

Ted Tay, a consultant with Pointstar, who has many years experience as a handy man gave the talk on home care. This session was interactive and lively. The participants were seen actively taking pictures of every little gadget that was introduced. Tay took everyone on a journey through a typical home from the door, to the hall, to the kitchen and the rooms. He advised the crowd on how to make each home appliance function at its best. Tay introduced energy and water saving devices, and even a new technology of lights that is able to remove odors from a room. Participants Veronica Lee and Jennifer Tham who are both in the administrative line said that the class was informative and knowledge-providing. The DIY tips that Tay dished out were very useful.

Hannie Hay, a consultant from Jill Lowe International presented to a jammed packed room of ladies an excellent step by step guide to personal beauty and grooming. Hay, who was a chief air stewardess for 18 years taught that 55% of first impressions is affected by visual presentation, 38% is by verbal words and 7% is by vocal indentation. She encouraged the participants with positive affirmations and used some members of the audience as models to show how hairstyle changes outlook dramatically.

Hay also shared that choosing the right clothes and accessories according our skin tone and color bring power and charisma, stimulating and energizing one’s look. More than just outward appearance, Hay also touched on the fact that a person’s speech needs to be respectful and influential; commanding yet responsive, listening not reactive. She emphasized that anger releases toxins into the body system which can be detrimental to health. Sheryl Kang, one of the participants who is in her 40s said that the workshop “was informative and well presented.”

Following the workshops was lunch where all the participants had a chance to interact with one another.

For further enquiries on Empowering Singles Parents Network, you may email to [email protected] or call the ESPN hotline at 65-67376266.

Contributed by Delvina Su

14 November 2009 saw a steady stream of enthusiastic blood donors pouring into the Singapore Expo Hall 8, all eager and excited to do their part for City Harvest Community Services Association’s (CHCSA) blood donation drive held several times throughout the year.

The blood donation center was set up in Conference Rooms 1 to 4, and started from 10am till 4pm. According to CHCSA’s Program Manager, Irene Ho, the blood collected will be treated into 3 components by the Health Science Authority (HSA) before being supplied to hospitals located island wide.

The aim of CHCSA’s blood donation drive was to “help our community cope with the shortage of blood especially during festive seasons, and to help increase Red Cross’s blood units,” says Ho. A blood donation drive planned nearer to festive seasons tends to see a rise in the number of blood donors. According to HSA, 90 000 units of blood are needed annually to treat the ill and injured.

Adding on, Ho said that for every donation drive there are different themes and activities held for the donors. During one particular donation drive, electronic handheld games and board games were loaned to the donors in order to help them pass time. This time round, much to donors’ delight, volunteers from CHCSA went around the various conference rooms handing out free popcorn, marshmallows and candy canes.

Calista Chan, who has donated blood three times thus far in spite of a fear of needles, said “I would encourage my friends to give blood because it is meaningful. Also, with just a few minutes of our time, we can actually save lives.”

PHOTOS: Tan Song Kow

Ho has this to say to all aspiring blood donors, “Donating blood is actually good for our own bodies, as it helps us to build a healthier immune system. Contrary to common belief, the process of blood donation is actually painless.

The donation drive registered a total of 260 donors, which is the equivalent of 200 units (packets) of blood.