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Broadcast Sept 16, 2025, at 7 pm and 10 pm nightly news
Article published Sept 17, 2025
Article published Sept 17, 2025
San Mateo Event Center Twitter
Singapore Global Network Community Portal
Event Calendar published on Sept 17, 2025
SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fueled by the passion and drive of Singaporeans and friends living in the United States, a team of dedicated volunteers is bringing an unprecedented cultural celebration to the Bay Area: the inaugural Singapore Festival 2025 will debut on Sunday, September 21 at the San Mateo County Event Center. The festival’s tagline, “Still Shiok at 60!”, reflects Singapore’s youthful energy and joy at 60, with shiok expressing the delight and satisfaction of every Singaporean experience. Organized by SingaporeConnect, a Bay Area-based nonprofit, this first-of-its-kind and most ambitious community-led Singaporean event held in the US, unites US-based Singaporeans to American and Asian communities, and showcases Singapore’s unique multicultural identity in America.
Singapore Festival 2025 will transform the event center into a vibrant celebration of food, music, art, and innovation—honoring six decades of independence and the enduring friendship between Singapore and the United States. The festival reflects the values that unite Singapore and the Bay Area: diversity, resilience, and forward-thinking creativity.
“Singapore Festival 2025 is more than a cultural celebration—it’s a bridge between communities, a platform for shared stories, and a spotlight on Singapore’s global identity,” said Mark Sin, president of SingaporeConnect. “From hawker food heritage to business innovation, the festival weaves a vibrant tapestry of Singapore’s journey while deepening ties with the Bay Area. And above all, our heartfelt thanks go to every volunteer—your passion and commitment turned this dream into reality.”
What to Expect: A Full Day of “Shiok” Moments
Sponsors
Singapore Festival sponsors include Singapore Global Network, Infocomm Media Development Authority, Donna Tam Real Estate, Aurice Guyton Events, Hipster, Voncierge, Igloo, Razer, Spot On Productions, Squire Patton Boggs, and Khong Guan Corporation. Interested sponsors, marketplace vendors, partners, volunteers, and community contributors/kampong heroes can click here to explore opportunities with Singapore Festival.
Event Details
Register to Attend Singapore Festival 2025
Singapore Festival 2025 offers a true taste of home for the Singaporean community and an exciting cultural journey for all friends of Singapore. Get tickets here or visit the Singapore Festival’s website, Facebook, or Instagram for updates. For media interested in covering the event or in one-on-one interviews with SingaporeConnect and/or participating speakers, entertainers, artists, speakers, vendors, please contact Tanita Sandhu at media@singaporeconnect.org
Exclusive Media Invitation – VIP Pre-Event & Tour
Accredited media are invited to join a VIP pre-event reception at 9:30 AM on Sunday, September 21. This private briefing will include an exclusive first look at the festival, featuring a preview of the immersive theater, culinary food zone, and vibrant marketplace—all before doors officially open to the public. Attendance is capped and press passes are required. To request a media pass for the VIP pre-event or the Singapore Festival, please contact Tanita Sandhu at media@singaporeconnect.org
About SingaporeConnect
Founded in 2005, SingaporeConnect is a nonprofit corporation (pending 501(c)(4) status) based in the Bay Area comprised of passionate volunteers dedicated to building a vibrant and connected community of Singaporeans and fans of Singapore in the United States. SingaporeConnect aims to serve as a cultural and social bridge—celebrating Singaporean heritage, fostering meaningful connections with fans and friends of Singapore, and engaging the next generation of overseas Singaporeans. From family-friendly gatherings to professional networking and milestone celebrations, we bring the Singapore spirit to life abroad. www.singaporeconnect.org
Media Contact
Tanita Sandhu/Mary Placido
Singapore Festival
(415) 218-3627
media@singaporeconnect.org
Singapore: The Road toIndependence is an immersive theatre journey that blends professional actors with community participants from the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas. Featuring both Americans and Singaporeans, the production takes audiences on a metaphorical subway ride through time — from Singapore’s founding to its present-day transformation. Designed as an interactive experience, the play invites the public to step into the narrative and become part of the storytelling itself.
Director Searit Huluf (www.filmfreeway.com/searit) and SingaporeConnect(www.SingaporeConnect.org) present The Road to Independence, an immersive theatre experience that traces Singapore’s evolution from a fishing village to a sovereign nation — and ultimately, a global model for sustainable innovation and urban excellence.
Part of the inauguralSingapore Festival — the first of its kind held outside the country — this immersive performance is both a tribute and an invitation: to see Singapore not just as a destination, but as a story worth knowing.
Singapore is often admired but rarely understood. A lush, cosmopolitan city-state in the heart ofSoutheast Asia, it is now recognised as a global financial and technological powerhouse — efficient, forward-looking, and environmentally conscious. But few know of the improbable path it took to get here.
Just sixty years ago, Singapore was a small island with fewer than two million people, no natural resources, and little global presence — save for its strategic location and its people. Multicultural, pragmatic, and unrelenting in their belief in the possible,Singaporeans built something extraordinary from almost nothing.
This year, as Singapore marks its 60th year of independence, we look back not simply to commemorate history, but to understand the forces — political, cultural, human — that shaped this quiet giant.
Where is Singapore? Who are her people? This is our answer.
Press& Partnerships:
Tabitha Chee — Producer
Swetha Ram — Marketing & Promotions
📧promotion@singaporeconnect.org
🌐www.singaporefest.com
📍San Mateo, CA
More about the Singapore Festival.
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