Perhaps one of the easiest #LittleGreenSteps is turning off your lights and to inspire the importance of this, a grassroots movement was born in 2007 which encourages people all over the world to switch off for one hour. This year Earth Hour happens on Saturday, March 30th 2019 from 8:30 pm – 9:30 pm and over 180 countries and territories are expected to take part.
Once again, Singapore is taking this initiative one (#LittleGreenStep) further with its annual Earth Hour affair (if you’re in Hong Kong, you can learn how to take part here). Here is what you need to know:
1. IT’S A FESTIVAL
A three-day festival will unfold along the Singapore River that will join together communities with a vested interest in environmental change through music, food, and culture. The nature-themed experience looks to highlight the rapid loss of nature and its impact through workshops, activities, and concert. “Earth Hour aims to reach thousands in Singapore to be conscious citizens that make sustainable choices on a daily basis,” say its organizers.
2. IT’S ALSO A MAZE
We mean this literally. Travel through the passage of time in an experiential and immersive maze called Nature’s Maze that depicts three habitats: forest, ocean and a frozen world in which visitors will discover how we as humans are the solutions to our problems.
3. IT’S A DANCE PARTY
But if you prefer to enjoy music sitting down, you can do that too. Either way, several local loves will helm the stage at Music For Nature and provide musical accompaniment to the festivities. Enjoy performances by local pop-rock band 53A, internet breakout star Preetipls, hip-hop artist Subhas, Cosmic Child, Jack and Rai, and Subsonic Eye.
4. THE CLIMAX IS A COUNTDOWN
While music and activities span three days, it all culminates in a concert on March 30th at the 60+ Countdown Bash so make sure you’re one with the crowd on Saturday night as everyone counts down to the symbolic Earth Hour together for one collective lights-out moment and watch Singapore’s stunning skyline dim before your eyes. This year, WWF-Singapore’s Panda Ambassador Liv Lo, along with other Earth Hour Ambassadors like Charmaine Yee, Paul Foster and Preetipls will lead this iconic moment.
5. IT’S CHOCK FULL OF THINGS TO DO
The festival is complete with shopping booths, sustainable workshops, and a fashion exhibit at the Shop for Nature Marketplace. Shop your heart out guilt-free shopping with eco-conscious lifestyle vendors like The Green Collective, Trove of Gaia, Banyan Tree Essentials or take in a workshop by Love Nature, Wah So Simple and Triple Eyelid where you can try your hand at making soaps, beeswax wraps and carpentry (with recycled wood, of course).
6. IT’S A CARBON NEUTRAL AFFAIR
Before you get in a huff about how festivals take up too much energy, know that Earth Hour 2019 is a carbon neutral event. It will also feature sustainable solutions for large-scale events like eliminating disposables, the use of reusable containers and bags, and a physical set up created from recycled wooden pallets that can be dismantled and reused. These solutions are aimed to inspire other large-scale events, like music festivals, in the region so if you’re in the industry and your audience has been hankering you to go green, come on down.
7. IT’S ZERO-WASTE EVENT
This is a give in, but let us explain further. Make sure to bring your own reusable items but if for some reason you can’t, rent them from Revolv and Shinpuru. Also know that booths, workshop spaces, and chill-out corners are courtesy of local manufacturing facility Xcel Industrial Supplies and design company Triple Eyelid and will be further re-used for more events.
8. EXPECT A CULINARY FEAST
What’s a festival without food? But since meat is one of the biggest drivers of deforestation, this event is ditching traditional festival food in favor of a vegetarian menu at Food for Nature with menus created by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen and DB Bistro & Oyster Bar. But if you can’t live without that extra dose of protein or something more resembling of meat, find the Beyond Meat Truck to nosh on plant-based sausages.
9. OUR GIRL LIV LO IS TEACHING YOGA
Kickstart your Saturday with HIIT yoga class led by Liv Lo. Beginning at 10am, join Liv for a special sunshine edition of her signature style of yoga called FitSphere where you can sweat it out under the sun. Spots are limited so act quick and sign up here.
10. ENJOY A FAMILY-FRIENDLY SUNDAY FUNDAY
Bring your small green warriors along on this day and take part in activities like a parent-child duo in a first-ever Panda Junior Quiz. You’ll both leave more educated about wildlife and nature while having a hoot connecting together.
And a special shoutout goes to The PARKROYAL on Pickering who will be switching off non-essential lights during Earth Hour and also teasing a new plant-based menu with a pop-up stall. Head there on your way to or from Marina Bay Stands to check out the ‘Green on the Go’ pop-up stall will be located outside of Lime Restaurant and will be serving meat-less Beyond Burgers and if you bring a reusable cup, you’ll be rewarded with a complimentary serving of Lime’s signature Limenade. The hotel, which was voted the World’s Leading Green City Hotel by the World Travel Awards Gala Ceremony last year, is consistently finding ways to take the lead in fighting climate change in Singapore through the introduction of various sustainability initiatives.
Earth Hour 2019 takes place from March 29th to 31st at the Marina Bay Sands Event Plaza and is free with the exception of workshops and classes. Find the program overview and hours of operation here.
