Mark your calendars as the third edition of Christmas Wonderland, Singapore’s biggest annual yuletide fair, returns to transform Gardens by the Bay into a festive playground this December.
Organised by Blue Sky Events and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board, Christmas
Wonderland 2016 takes place from 2 December to 1 January 2017, from 3.30pm to 11pm daily.
Visitors to the fair can embark on a festive journey and marvel at the Italian luminarie – Sculptures of Light illuminating the fairground, which has been expanded to 57,000sqm. New experiences await visitors of all ages, from wintry fun at the Ice Palace, to the local debut of the Hi-5 Funtastic House to a magical forest of Christmas trees. Visitors can also look forward to a bigger festive shopping and dining experience, more carnival games and curated festive performances for a celebration at home like no other.
“The first two editions have drawn visitors from all over Singapore and beyond, attracting over 2.5 million visitors. This year, we have expanded the event grounds and introduced a series of new attractions and a wider variety of activities. Taking into account the infrastructure within and around the event grounds, this year’s Christmas Wonderland will be ticketed to better manage the daily capacity to ensure the quality of the overall visitor experience is enhanced,” said Ms Sarah Martin,
Director of Blue Sky Events.
Ms Carrie Kwik, Executive Director, Arts, Entertainment & Tourism Concept Development, Singapore Tourism Board, said, “We are delighted to support Christmas Wonderland once again as a festive complement to Singapore’s bustling year-end activities. As the event last year attracted over 1.6 million visitors, 40 per cent of which were from overseas, we look forward to the expanded fairground welcoming locals and tourists of all ages.”
Admission tickets starts from S$4 and can only be purchased online at www.christmaswonderland.sg from 28 October 2016. Each paying adult can bring in up to three children under 0.9m free of charge. A child above 0.9m requires a ticket. Visitors must purchase their tickets prior to visiting the event, as tickets will not be available for sale on-site.
Additional charges for some attractions within the event grounds as well as to the conservatories apply. Selected capacity-controlled attractions will be available for prebookings online.
More regal luminarie – Sculptures of Light imported from Italy, the main attraction of Christmas Wonderland, will illuminate the fairground and have visitors mesmerised this year. Featuring a distinctive 17th and 18th century Baroque architectural style, some 240,000 multihued bulbs will light up the 67 hand-sculpted luminarie.
The 19.7m tall Spalliera Castel del Monte is Southeast Asia’s highest and largest luminarie. Its design is largely inspired by its namesake – a 13th century castle and one of Italy’s most striking UNESCO site. Here, visitors can also look forward to experiencing ‘snow’ in the tropics with the daily Blizzard Time. Making its debut at Christmas Wonderland near the Meadow Bridge is the enchanting Magical Forest. Santa’s Cottage awaits amongst a forest of pine trees adorned with festive baubles, where visitors can meet Santa and bring home a memorable photo.
Adding to the festive atmosphere, Christmas Wonderland also presents a complimentary showcase of yuletide parades, choral performances as well as curated singer-songwriter collaboration sessions amongst local artistes such as The Next Movement and Hidhir. Please refer to Annex 1 for the entertainment line-up.
Step into an upsized Ice Palace to enjoy ‘winter’ in our sunny island – skate at the 400sqm ice skating rink, enjoy an all-new 25m long Ice Slide or make a ‘snow’ angel at the 96sqm Snow Playground.
The Hi-5 Funtastic House will make its Singapore debut at Christmas Wonderland is sure to delight little ones with a host of fun activities. Fans of the hit Australian musical group can have a time of their lives at the ‘Ready, Set, Bounce!’ bouncy castle, groove along to their favourite Hi-5 songs and ‘Style It Up’ for the camera in Hi-5 costumes and bring home a memento. Visitors are encouraged to pre-book their preferred sessions online to avoid disappointment.
Visitors can expect more carnival attractions at Christmas Wonderland this year. They can look forward to new carnival rides such as bumper cars, a mini ferris wheel and motorised Bug Car rides.
Visitors can also take in the sights and sounds of the fairground at a more leisurely pace on
the Christmas trains. The ever popular carnival games return with more stalls including ‘Fishy Fishy’, ‘Lobster Pot’, ‘Can Toss’, ‘Ring Toss’ and ‘Hi Striker’ where participants stand to bring home Disney soft toys.
Visitors can enjoy an immersive dining experience at an all-new two-storey Glass House nestled amidst the Supertree Grove. Featuring a festive menu specially curated by Harry’s, diners can look forward to festive signature dishes while taking in beautiful views of the spectacular luminarie light sculptures within an air-conditioned indoor setting. The Glass
Explore the unique food, drink and shopping offerings at the European-style Festive Market featuring traditional wooden huts specially brought in from the United Kingdom. More details on the offerings at the Festive Market will be available at a later date.
Visitors are encouraged to plan ahead and secure their tickets early due to the event’s capacity limit. Christmas Wonderland has partnered VISA to offer 25% off the first 1,000 tickets daily. Cardholders will need to purchase their tickets using VISA Checkout and a valid promotional code.
Visitors with tickets to Christmas Wonderland can also enjoy $4 off Gardens by the Bay’s local resident Double Conservatories tickets, and experience the festive season in the crisp climate of the Flower Dome.
For more information on and to book tickets for Christmas Wonderland, visit www.christmaswonderland.sg.