The Singapore Sun Festival and the art of living well

MANILA, Philippines - The featured artists in this year’s Singapore Sun Festival included some of the best and the brightest talents in art, film, culinary arts, literature, music as well as wellness experts who generously shared their talent and expertise to entertain, enlighten, and delight all those who attended the extensive lineup of events.

I was fortunate enough to attend this year’s celebration, which by the way, is the festival’s fourth year.

First up was an afternoon with two good-looking bachelors, classical guitarist Milos Karadaglic and celebrity chef Curtis Stone who enjoyed their time in sunny Singapore and were also equally ecstatic to be included in the event’s lineup of artists.

A little night music

Celebrity Chef Curtis Stone hard at work on the meals to be served at the event, “Surfing the Menu with Curtis Stone.”

Milos took part in the closing gala concert of the festival, “Silk Road Odyssey,” which also featured Asian talents Yu Jia, Rachel Lee, Han Lei, and the Singapore Chinese Orchestra conducted by Maestro Tsung Yeh. Milos, who is widely popular in Europe, is set to release his first album by next year. The multi-awarded young talent wowed the guests with his soulful take on Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez. Having established himself as one of the most gifted classical guitar artists in the world, his performance is considered to be one of the highlights of the concert. 

For music fans, the “Silk Road Odyssey” wasn’t the only musical extravaganza featured at the festival: in fact, this year’s Singapore Sun Festival actually started off with a bang, with a star-studded performance by Grammy award winner David Foster and friends — which included international stars Natalie Cole, Peter Cetera, The Canadian Tenors, Ruben Studdard, and Filipino singing sensation, Charice. It was followed by night after night of incredible musical performances headlined by the brightest stars in the industry namely Natalie Cole, one of the world’s greatest tenors Jose Carreras, jazz legend George Benson, and The Creole Choir of Cuba.

Aside from these amazing gala performances — all held in the world famous, Esplanade Concert Hall — the Singapore Sun Festival also prepared free outdoor concerts that featured artists such as Grammy nominee Tambuco and Indialucia.

Eat your heart out

Meanwhile, celebrity chef Curtis Stone is no stranger to Singapore, and its famous hawker fare; while he’s been to the country several times already it’s still a place that he enjoys visiting. For this year’s Singapore Sun Festival, the famous chef showcased his culinary skills in an event aptly called, “Surfing the Menu with Curtis Stone.” For this special dinner, Curtis treated his guests with his favorite dishes from the cooking show that launched his career as a host and international star, Surfing the Menu.

Of course, the bevy of culinary events held at the festival didn’t stop there as the Singapore Sun Festival was prepared to provide its guests with a superb gastronomic experience through events such as “Celebrazione Italiana!” and “Viva Italia!” (Italian gourmet celebrations featuring Michelin Star Chef Carlo Cracco and wine expert James Suckling), “An Exclusive Bordeaux Wine Tasting Event with James Suckling,” and “East Meets West in the Kitchen” which was a special cooking class featuring celebrity chefs Curtis Stone and Samia Ahad.

Hollywood A-lister Sharon Stone shares her deep passion for her advocacies during the exclusive press con held at the Fullerton Hotel.

Celebration of Art

From the best of music and the culinary arts, the Singapore Sun Festival also widely catered to art aficionados by holding a multitude of events paying homage to visual arts, film, and even literature. One of Singapore’s finest contemporary artists, Jimmy Ong showed off some of his works at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute while a fine collection of Light Art Installations were made available to the public through the first-ever Marina Bay Light Festival. The first of its kind even in Asia, the Marina Bay Light Festival showcased over 20 low-energy light art installations created by international, regional and local design luminaries. Other visual arts events held during the festival were “Sumatra: Isle of Gold” and “Fright Night” at the Asian Civilisations Museum.

For film, movie buffs were treated to delightful evenings that featured popular film classics such as North by Northwest (1959), Dial M for Murder (1954), An American in Paris (1951), and Singin’ in the Rain (1952). The “Classic Film Screenings” were all held at the lovely Singapore Botanic Gardens where packages for gourmet picnic baskets were also made available for a fee. But what’s more exciting is the special event featuring Hollywood A-lister Sharon Stone who came all the way to Singapore to grace the event. One of the most popular Hollywood celebrities, she is also a spokesperson for the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Aside from the event, “Up Close and Personal with Sharon Stone,” she also took part in “A Symphony of Stars!” — the festival’s closing event where guests took part in a special auction which benefit Action for AIDS Singapore, a cause that’s dear to Sharon’s heart. She was joined by other artists such as Curtis Stone and the Creole Choir of Cuba.

A Holistic Experience

Tsung Yeh, Milos Karadaglic, Yu Jia, Ruan Yun Ting, Rachel Lee, Han Lei and the Singapore Chinese Orchestra at the Silk Road Odyssey gala concert

Rounding up the festival’s fine lineup of activities is its wellness events which featured a special Sun Yoga Conference, meditation sessions from meditation instructor and holistic trainer Umesh Nandwani, and a two-day wellness workshop facilitated by bestselling author and life guide, Vikas Malkani. He treated guests to an inspiring talk which aimed to make people realize the simple ways of how to achieve a happy life as well as success. It’s actually perfect for busy workaholics who need to take a few steps back and rethink their life choices and what really matters in life. As personal happiness, is simply a personal choice; it’s not something that you seek out but is what you choose to have in your life.

This way of life is what the Singapore Sun Festival hopes to imbibe to all of its guests each year; that with enough effort, the willingness to make positive changes in one’s life — and taking time out to experience the beautiful things that life has to offer — is how one can truly enjoy the art of living well.

* * *

The 2010 Singapore Sun Festival was organized by IMG Artists in partnership with UBS. For information on the event, visit http://www.singaporesunfestival.com.