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Interview with Singapore's Top Magic Duo JC Sum and Magic Babe Ning

Click here to read the full interview.

Photo: Concept:Magic

	Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games
	Click here for more on the coverage of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games by the Current Events' Team.

A Night of Horrors in Singapore!

It was raining heavily and the thunder was loud and scary. The entrance was full of monsters…Count Dracula, ghosts, ghouls. People were screaming all around and some of us were scared out of our wits.

No, this is not a scene from a horror movie, but one that we encountered at the entrance of the Halloween celebrations at the Night Safari, Singapore. Night Safari was transformed with spider webs and skulls that created a spooky atmosphere. Despite the heavy downpour, the crowd kept coming in through the gates, some in their Halloween costumes and some in their ponchos, looking eerie in the dim light. The Halloween tram with its zebra printed table cloths, skull lights, spider webs and pumpkins, added to the ambiance. The giant pumpkin at the entrance area startled many as it suddenly rose to become a giant pumpkin monster, growling loudly.

Night Safari also had a few creepy characters of their own that gave the audience quite a fright. The vampire, with his face painted white, his cape drawn and his sharp teeth, lunged at the audience sending screams all around. Dead Aladdin carried a lamp with a bleeding severed arm, perhaps that of the genie who wanted to escape. The Joker, with a big smile painted on his face, did not smile at all when one looked closely. He stared menacingly at people, and occasionally opened his mouth to show his sharp, bloody teeth.

Even though the rain prevented all the ghostly characters to make an appearance, we still decided to walk through one of the horror trails to the ‘Bridge of No Return’. During the trail, we encountered headless, bloody corpses, disfigured bodies with eyeballs hanging out of their sockets, plenty of skeletons and the woman on the bridge, hanging from the tree. Even without the characters, the trail created some suspense on its own and was exciting to complete.

“This Halloween setting for a tourist spot like Night Safari is indeed interesting and something different,” said Jay, a local visitor. Like him, many resident visitors found the event exciting and would like it to be repeated again next year. We found several expatriate families in the crowd. They particularly liked a venue like the Night Safari for the event, as it gave more energy to a celebration like Halloween.

This is not the first year that the Night Safari is holding the event, however, many people still do not know about it. "Halloween is to be enjoyed, not to be treated as a frightening occasion," explained one of the staff at the Night Safari. Although the event had its scary moments, it also catered to children and families. We had a lot of fun at the event, and we unanimously recommend it to all Halloween fans for next year celebrations!

JClub

Compiled from reports posted by JCLUB members including Chua Yi Tai, Nicholas Teo, Cindy Grace Chew, Donovan Koh, Genevieve Khoo, Joey Chan, Kenneth, Michelle Kris Chew, Chang Zhi Wei and Noyonika Bhattacharya.

Jointly coordinated by Night Safari and JClub by Nurture Craft Pte Ltd.

Special thanks to Night Safari for their support and sponsorship of this event

Photos: ksong

	Anime Festival Asia – AFA ‘08 Celebrating the Diversity of Japanese Popular Culture
		Thought your eyes were playing tricks on you when you happened to see human anime characters walking around near Suntec City when you were shopping? No, your eyes didn’t fail you. They were probably fans of anime characters taking part in the COSPLAY MANIA competition. An estimated 80 000 fans of all ages were celebrating at Anime Festival Asia (AFA) for the first time ever in South East Asia. The two days event, organized by I-Promo Events & Marketing in partnership with Dentsu Singapore, was held on the 22nd and 23rd November 2008 at Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre. With 7 experience zones:
	The Arena, Akiba Town, Anime Live, Anime Blockbusters, Industry, Mangaka and Planet Mech, visitors can choose from the wide variety of exhibitions and programs to get themselves entertained by. Limited edition collectibles on display up for sale, screening of recent anime series, posters of popular anime shows, display of manga artworks, seminars for people interested to join the anime industries, competitions for the talented, concerts and autograph sessions – with so many exciting corners to look around and participate, the spirit of Japanese popular culture would indeed be felt by all who were there. Large crowds surrounded the stage as live concerts of international Anime superstar Ichirou Mizuki and Japan’s Pop Diva May’n were going on for both nights. Fans left notes on the AFA official website praising the talents they have. One of them was known as Adol, exclaiming May’n’s concert being the “Best Concert” she had attended where May’n “really rock the whole house”. May’n promises the crowd that she will be back perhaps for another concert. One of the most eye opening events were the competitions held at AFA. New innovative ideas were erupted from young artists with beautiful art pieces at Mangaka and Graphite competitions as well as creative model makers who participated in BAKUC challenge and outstanding costumes in the Cosplay Mania competition. People from countries all over South East Asia also came to join in the fun. Tifanny Junadi, 18, from Indonesia, loves anime and was encouraged by her friends to take part in competitions of this event. Besides participating in the Cosplay Mania competition, she was also the artist of one of the winning artwork titled Iro in Graphite competition.
		Another fun-filled competition was Arcade Showdown where arcade gamers compete one-on-one with fellow contestants to fight for attractive winning prizes. Winner of Street Fighter and first runner-up for King of Fighter, Tan Jia Chun, 24, who started playing three months ago, said the strategy to winning was to “practice, know your opponents, and [have] a bit of luck”. Anime Festival Asia had indeed been a successful event, meeting up to the expectations of the people who went as they left with a smile on their face. It was a fun, memorable experience with the spirit of anime being lifted up once again. With the coming of Japan Creative Centre that is scheduled to open in Singapore next year, fans can look forward to much more exciting experiences in years to come! By: Michelle Chew and Cindy Chew.
	Photos: ksong

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