[EVENT LISTING] Exclusive Preview of DBS Marina Regatta 2017

A big shout out to all sunshine people out there as the DBS Marina Regatta 2017 (DBSMR) returns to Marina Bay from 1st to 4th June! I'm so excited to share the activities and highlights at this Singapore's Biggest BayFest as I've went for the exclusive preview before it's open to the public and admission is FREE. 

BayFest on Land

* BATTLE BAY *
Singapore's largest inflatable water obstacle course

Photo Credit to DBS Bank

Photo Credit to DBS Bank

Photo Credit to DBS Bank

Take up the challenge to navigate your way through Singapore's largest inflatable water obstacle course (11,000 square feet) featuring nine obstacles such as balance blocks, monkey bars, wall scaling and rope swings. Register your interest at www.dbsmarinaregatta.com to compete as a team. Fastest timings for individuals and teams stand to win up to SGD 8,000 in cash prizes and an all-expenses paid trip to Beijing.

Fun Fact: All proceeds from Battle Bay go towards supporting underprivileged students from Student Care Services.

* BAY BEACH *
Singapore's only pop-up urban beach returns bigger & better

This year, Bali beach club Potato Head will be bringing in their legendary Coconut Bar here for the first time to the urban beach serving their signature uber fresh coconut cocktails and beers. Don't forget to get some of Three Buns' gourmet burgers to complement your drinks! 

On 4th June night, come make history with Asia's first Intel drone light display as 50 Intel drones programmed to do bespoke designs for the regatta will be dancing in mid-air to a specially commissioned musical piece by local composer and conductor Eric Wong. The drones were behind Lady Gaga's Halftime Super Bowl this year and are each equipped with built-in LED lights that can create over 4 billion colour combinations.

Fun Fact: This year's urban pop-up beach spans 21,000 square feet and is Southeast Asia's largest ever. That's 1.5 Olympic pools, double the size of last year's beach! It can fit up to 2,000 people and is filled with 151 tonnes of sand - or eight truckloads worth. 

* BAY DOME *
Singapore's largest pop-up interactive art experience

Experience Singapore's largest pop-up interactive art experience where you can customise your own artwork and watch it come to life within the dome.

Fun Fact: At 7.5 metres tall which is about 2.5 storeys, Bay Dome is Singapore's biggest pop-up interactive art experience.

* BAY EATS *
Offerings from Singapore's top young chefs

Foodies alert, at the regatta's food village Bay Eats, The Local People returns as curators of the food village. Visit the award-winning food stalls and top new eateries in town such as the "NeoSin" restaurant Labyrinth, French eatery Garcons, The BellJar, Leng Leng ice cream and more.

Fun Fact: Garcons is a social enterprise started by Enoch and Immanuel. They have both done internship at Restaurant Andre, and used to be rivals with eateries on the same stretch in Katong.

* PLAY DOME *
Play in the day, party at night

Build up your stamina with free lululemon-curated classes by Yoga+, WeBarre and Eat Train Love during the day in this nine-metre tall Play Dome. At night, let your hair down at the DBSMR X Ultra Countdown Party which will take place exclusively at the regatta from 7pm to 10 pm on Friday and Saturday evening (2 & 3 June). The pre-parties will feature three Ultra Music Festival deejays each night, such as Dubvision, Crossnaders, Raiden, Jade Rasif, Moe and Myrne. (For 18 years and above. Charges are SGD 15 per entry, inclusive of a free drink at the Play Dome bar. DBS Live Fresh cardholders get priority access)

Fun Fact: Myrne was signed to Mad Decent in 2015, the electronic music label founded by Diplo.

* BAYFEST SHOP *
Perfect your festive look at their art market's eclectic range of stores

From hammocks to pottery to henna, this year's BayFest Shop offers a diverse range of products and festival-friendly gear. Shop for a good cause and support local!

Fun Fact: Social enterprise East Bali Cashew will also be at the BayFest shop. 95% of their employees are women!

* GIANT GAMES *
TRY OUT SOME GIANT PICK UP STICKS

Photo Credit to DBS Bank

For some light-headed fun, try out their Giant Games such as Giant Jenga or Giant Pick Up Sticks - a supersize take on the old-school game where you try to pick up a stick without moving any others in the pile.

Fun Fact: Giant Games is organised by Society Staples. The founders both have siblings with developmental disabilities and seek to build a more inclusive society. 

BayFest on Water

* DRAGON BOATING *
Region's top teams compete for Asia's highest prize purse

* SAILING *
Explore the Bay's waters on DBS' 18-metre tall mega sailboats

For more information, do visit

Website: www.dbsmarinaregatta.com
Facebook: go.dbs.com/dbsmr2017
Instagram: @dbsmarinaregatta
Official Hashtags: #DBSMarinaRegatta, #DBSMR, #WorkHardBayHard


XOXO

[SKM] Kindness Day SG 2017's Celebratory Dinner

For the month of May, a series of community activities were carried out as Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) joined hands with several Ground-Up Movements (GUMs) to kick off Kindness Day SG (KDSG) 2017. This year theme of "Kindness, It's Up to Us", challenge Singaporeans to put aside any reservations and make a conscious effort to act on our innate kindness.

The fifth edition of the annual KDSG bring Singaporeans from different sectors including school children, the Group Up Movements (GUMs) as well as corporate partners to celebrate kindness and graciousness in our society.

A Kindness Day SG 2017 Appreciation Dinner was held at the Stadium Riverside Walk to recognize 11 new GUMs to be included into the Kindred Spirit Circle. This will bring the total number of GUMs to 62 since 2013.

The following 11 GUMs have contributed in making Singapore a kinder and more gracious place to live in through their various campaigns.

- Air Amber
- Jurong Spring YEC
- Unity & Peace
- Project Chulia Street
- Playvocates in Action
- Strings for Kindness
- CanSense
- The Heart Bazaar
- Motorist.sg
- Commacon
- Runner's Heart Reach

Dr. William Wan, General Secretary of SKM observes, "As we approach our fifth year of Kindness Day SG, it is really comforting to see members of our society come together and take a stand for kindness, be it through personal initiatives or through volunteering with community groups. These projects do not go unnoticed and has played a vital part in transforming our society into a more inclusive and gracious community. I look forward to seeing Singaporeans implement more ideas, and create for themselves a Nation of Kindness we can all be proud of in the upcoming years."

Chief of Sports Medicine at Changi General Hospital and former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Dr. Ben Tan was the Guest-of-Honour for the event.

There's a presentation of  Certificates of Participation to a list of SKM Partners in recognition of Kindness Day SG as well as Tokens of appreciation to the 11 GUMs to be included in the SKM's Kindred Spirit Circle.

As part of the celebrations, a special maze art installation, named the 'Garden of Gratitude' has been set up with the incorporation of yellow gerbera windmills and light bulbs to celebrate, inspire and fuel the spirit of kindness in Singapore.

Unveiling of the installation through a light-up ceremony before the commencement of dinner.

The yellow gerbera windmills symbolize appreciation and gratitude to friends and loved ones. This art installation not only acts as a perfect photo spot, Singas are also hidden within the maze of daisies. Simply count the number of Singas in the maze and submit your answers at www.kindnessday.sg by 30th June 2017 to win Singa premiums. Winners will be notified via email by 7th July 2017.

Our dinner was accompanied by a wonderful violin performance from Strings of Kindness led by violinist and award winning athlete, Eileen Chai. It definitely bring cheers to this special night.

Thanks a lot for the media invitation. 

Photo Credit +Jessie Quek

Magic of Kindness

A person who thinks starts to know.

A person who knows start to learn.

A person who learns starts to create.

A person who creates starts to share.

A person who shares starts to inspire.

A person who inspires starts to revolutionise.

Let the person be you!

XOXO

[EVENT] MapleStorySEA's Pre-Beyond Patch Private Event + Giveaway

MapleStory has been around for over a decade and till today is still considered a popular mass-multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). It has been played by different generations, including myself and has been steadily coming up with updates to engage the gamers so that there are more challenges to be completed. Recently I just got back to play the game again and realized that I'm being labelled as an "Ancestor" in the game and they have so many different maps. My latest IGN is ChewyRena but now I'm too busy to continue playing.

I was glad to receive an invitation to attend the MapleStorySEA's Pre-Beyond Patch private event which was exclusively open only for the top Maplers and brand advocates. Thanks Asiasoft for the invite.

Despite not being able to be the top mapler, I was lucky to have my blog that sort of makes me a brand advocate for them. I get a first hand preview of the upcoming patch details as well as insights about the game's future plans.

The event was held at the Second Storey Cafe and I was surprise the place was able to hold a large group of us. 

Had a wonderful buffet spread for refreshments.

Mana Potion and Soul Booster mocktail for our drinks.

Computers were setup for the gamers to login and play the game before the presentation starts.

During the presentation, it was announced that the MapleStorySEA's Beyond patch released will see the game having a new Union System as well as the return of Omega Sector and many other exciting changes.

The Union System is a new feature that replace Character Cards and Part Time Job system. One of the criteria to be in the union system is that your character must be at least level 60 and has completed 2nd Job Advancement.

The Omega Sector will be re-introduced with a new boss at the end of the area. Level requirement is 165+.

One of the main highlight of the event was the introduction of a new boss - Lucid.

The Top Maplers attempting to beat Lucid in Hard Mode but little damages were done and they were unable to defeat Lucid.

Thus, there's now an open challenge to DEFEAT LUCID IN HARD MODE, whereby the first party of 6 players to defeat Lucid in Hard Mode (SEA server) will be immortalized forever! It will comes in a limited edition 6-set @Cash cards (each with a value of 10,000 @Cash), customized with your character and IGN. Just think about giving out this as a 'Special Namecard' to your friends. How cool would that be? Challenge stands till 31 December 2017.

Photo Credit +Jessie Quek 

Everyone brings home a goodie bag and on top of that a lucky draw was conducted and nearly everyone got something on top of the goodie bag to bring home. The best prize was a razor keyboard. I won a Pink Bean and Ryden won a Yeti plushie.

GIVEAWAY TIME

I have 2 sets of the goodies that I would like to giveaway! 

It includes:

- MapleStory Season 2 Mousepad

- MapleStory Season 2 Pen

-MapleStory Season 2 Keychain 

- Maple Story Cash Item: Merlion Pet Package redemption code

(Contains a Merlion Pet, Merlion pet Equipment. Will only loot mesos for you Permanent. Valid till 31st May 2017)

Winners must be able to self collect the prize at JuzGaming Cyber Cafe, the only Lan Gaming Shop in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. 

STEPS TO JOIN THIS GIVEAWAY

1) Like this post on my Facebook Page @chewyjas 

2) Comment below my post of your IGN and level in Maple Story

3) Tag at least 1 friend for higher chances to win

GIVEAWAY CLOSES THIS SATURDAY 27TH MAY 2017, 2359 

WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFY PERSONALLY.

Good Luck!

XOXO

[EVENT] DBS Paylah! Palooza - Singapore’s First-Ever Cashless Bazaar

In support of Singapore's Smart Nation vision, DBS launches Singapore's first ever cashless bazaar. Jointly organised with *SCAPE, DBS PayLah! Palooza features over 100 youth vendors over three days from 5 to 7 May 2017 and is held at *SCAPE Playspace from 1pm to 9pm. 

This bazaar is just one of the bank's initiatives to showcase the latest payment mode whereby vendors and customers at the bazaar will be able to make and receive payments through the DBS PayLah!'s mobile app via the QR code function.

Official Photo from DBS: Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth officiating the launch of the DBS Paylah! X *SCAPE Palooza event 

During the media launch, DBS introduced the "Smart Nation Ambassador Programme" (SNAP) that will see DBS recruiting up to 1,000 ambassadors to encourage small, cash-based merchants, such as hawker stalls, wet market vendors and neighbourhood stores to adopt DBS PayLah! QR codes as a payment method.

In conjunction with the SNAP initiative, DBS will also partner ComfortDelGro Taxi to implement QR code payment in its fleet of 16,300 taxis by 3Q17. Altogether, DBS hopes to have more than 30,000 QR code payment acceptance points available to customers by the end of the year. 

Official Photo from DBS: (L-R) Chrstopher Pragasam, Executive Director, *SCAPE; Jeremy Soo, Head of DBS Consumer Banking Group (Singapore); Pearlyn Phau, Deputy Group Head, DBS Consumer Banking & Wealth Management; Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth; Tan Su Shan, Group Head, DBS Consumer Banking & Wealth Management

Said Jeremy Soo, Head of Consumer Banking Group (Singapore), DBS Bank, "One of the obstacles to widdespread cashless payment adoption we've identified is that there are still various myths circulating around cashless payments - that high costs are involved in setting up the infrastructure to process payments; it is unsafe; it is complicated to use for both merchant & consumers, etc. We set up SNAP as an outreach programme so we can help debunk these myths and demonstrate to businesses how going cashless can be low-cost, easy and raise business productivity, taking us one step closer to our vision of a Smart Nation."

I head down to the bazaar for a first hand experience of cashless shopping. Many of the vendors from Artbox will be at this event too, including social enterprises supported by the DBS Foundation.

Previously at the Artbox, I didn't really get to shop. So this time round, I made sure I walked a few rounds to check out the different stores and I did get a few great buys here. Just cannot resist durian. So bought durian crepes and muffin from Adeline Pastry after trying the sample. 

Next, I got my mother-in-law this pretty silicon iPhone casing which only cost $2! There's lots of different designs available.

This store, @OneTapLifestyle, distributor of Karel Capek (Tokyo) caught my eyes with the beautiful tea bags packaging. I bought myself a few different flavours at $2 each. 

Payment is really convenient, with my mobile phone, I just need to open my DBS PayLah! app to scan the personalized QR code of the merchants, after that keyed in the amount I need to pay and confirmed. At the merchants side, they are able to easily track our transactions automatically in the app. 

Some of the Fashion stores, expect to find some of the clothes that can be as low as $2! There's also a store selling clothes for pets which I initially mistaken as clothes for babies. 

Accesseries.

Childhood tidbits that brings back nostalgic memories.

Fay Terrarium - www.fayyterrarium.com

There's also a lot of other interesting products sold there.

And if shopping is not your idea, there's also stage performances from popular acts like Inch Chua (https://www.thisisinch.com)

The bazaar also offers virtual reality games for the public to play, ranging from games such as Call of Duty, Star Wars and more.

So, this weekend, leave your wallet at home and head to scape for some cashless shopping experience. Just ensure you have DBS PayLah! installed in your mobile phone before heading down. Have a great weekend!

XOXO