1. ●ARTISANAL PRODUCTS
●ART MARKET
●HANDICRAFTS
●TREASURE HUNT
●RESIDENTS’ OPEN MIC/JAM
●COFFEE IN THE PARK
●FOOD
●LIVE MUSIC
●EXPERIENCE THE
DIFFERENCES
●JULY 2 & 3
●11AM-7PM
● BLOCK 648A,
HOUGANG AVENUE 8,
CI YUAN SPORTS PARK
DATE/TIME/VENUE
news news
Report by PRISCA ANG
prisang@sph.com.sg
Heartlanders, prepare to party
where you live.
No need for expensive tickets to lis-
ten to live music, dance to a DJ’s mu-
sic or pay to eat exotic fare at food
festivals.
Instead, celebrate harmony with
your neighbours at hip parties that
will be held all over Singapore, start-
ing tomorrow.
They are block parties with live
acoustic music, unique games and
contemporary cuisine. You can call it
a modern take on the pasar malam.
The first two of the 47 parties will
kick off tomorrow and on Sunday at
Block 648A, Hougang Avenue 8, Ci
Yuan Sports Park.
Residents can party from 11am to
7pm on both days.
The parties will travel to 17 loca-
tions in the heartland, over selected
weekends, till December.
The Rock Our Blocks parties are or-
ganised by People’s Association (PA)
Panel of Activists for Community En-
gagement (Pace) and The New Paper.
“Harmony is the essence of the Sin-
gapore success story,” said Mr Domi-
nic Nathan, editor of TNP.
“And the heartlander is very close
to our hearts because TNP is very
much a heartland newspaper.
Among other attractions, residents
PA & TNP To mAke...
our blocks
rockParties for heartlanders to promote
harmony among neighbours through
food, fun and friendship
tnp illustration: teoh yi chie
can expect delicious food from 23
vendors, or buy local lifestyle prod-
ucts such as henna and leather craft.
(See report, above.)
jAm
Want to jam with your neighbours?
Join the open mic sessions on the
stage, appreciate music by local tal-
ent or dance to music by DJs such as
DJ Senter.
There will also be activities such as
paper quilling and batik painting or-
ganised by PA interest groups.
You can even learn cardiopulmo-
nary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid.
The first 1,000 residents to com-
plete the CPR exercise and first-aid
awareness programmes will receive
“harmony packs”, which include cel-
ebratory postcards and postboxes for
neighbours to pen messages to one
another. They will also get a 10 per
cent discount voucher for any food
stall at the party.
The block parties aim to create
harmony within the heartland com-
munity, and equip them with nec-
essary skills to respond to emer-
gencies, said a PA spokesman.
Those who are not Hou-
gang residents can also
join in the fun.
Ms Tan Jia Hui,
20, who lives in
Serangoon
Gardens,
said she was excited about the par-
ty and planned to go there to “check
out the event”. She said that festivals
and parties are “rarer in the east and
more common in the west”.
She said: “I’m keen on trying the
food and I hope it’ll be as delicious
as it seems.”
One of the vendors is ColdShave,
which serves ice kacang in different
flavours.
Owner Glen Tan, 27, said:
“We’re trying to reinvent the
dessert by adding a modern
twist to it.
“We’re happy to
reach out to more
heartland custom-
ers and we hope
they’ll like it.”
ColdShAve
l What it is: a combination of
finely shaved ice and creamy
ice cream, with toppings such
as condensed milk, caramel and
azuki beans. it is a twist on ice
kacang. the shaved ice comes
in flavours such as lemon, green
apple and orange.
What to try
What: Rock Our Block parties
Where: Block 648a, hougang
avenue 8, ci yuan sports park
When: tomorrow and sunday, 11am
to 7pm
Tickets: admission is free
fyi
l Flavours to look out for: the
coldshave special, which is
essentially bubblegum and
lemon lime shaved ice with
vanilla ice cream and condensed
milk. the dish is one in five that
will be served at the parties.
l price: $3.50 to $5
momolATo
l What it is: homemade gelato and
designer popsicles
l Flavours to look out for:
l popsicles — Watermelon kiwi,
hokkaido milk with strawberries,
coconut water lychee, lemon
lime, bandung strawberry
l Gelato — Dark chocolate sorbet,
salted gula melaka, vanilla oreo,
mao shan wang durian sorbet,
Korean strawberry
l price: $4 a popsicle/gelato, two
for $7, three for $10.
The Ugly dUCkliNg
l What it is: Duck products
l items to look out for: Duck leg
confit burger, cheese fries made
with freshly cut potatoes cooked
in duck fat, topped with nacho
cheese, mayonnaise and crispy
duck skin
l price: $8 a burger, $6 each order
of cheese fries
16
Friday, July 1 2016 THE NEW PAPER THE NEW PAPER Friday, July 1 2016
17