Rise & Shine Carnival 2013 @ The Lawn, Marina Bay

Rise & Shine Carnival is an event organised by a group final year students from my alma mater, Wee Kee Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), together with a group of newly-minted mothers, who want their children to start their lives healthy, happy and strong.

The event focuses on raising children healthily in all areas: social, physical, intellectual, mental and medical.

The carnival took place last Sunday (3 Mar) at The Lawn at Marina Bay from 8.00am till noon. It made it into the Singapore Book of Records as the first and largest ever Breakfast Picnic in Singapore. 

Over 1,900 people turned up for the carnival, with Dr Amy Khor, Minister of State, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Manpower, showing up as the Guest of Honour.

My wife and I are not the usual early morning folks. Last Sunday, we made an effort to get up earlier to prepare our own breakfast to bring along for the picnic.

Rachel made some fresh pancakes while I buttered a few slices of bread and packed an assortment of fruits to share.

We reached The Lawn at around 10am. The place was very lively, with carefree kids running all over while parents lazed on their picnic mats.

Once we got ourselves settled on a cosy little spot, we had our breakfast, explored some of the booths and brought Asher around to have some fun.

Asher particularly enjoyed riding in this rental bike:

All in all, we had a fun family day out. I like the idea.

We should have more events like this in Singapore so parents with kids have more things to do over the weekend instead of just staying home to watch television or heading to shopping malls.

Come September, Rise & Shine will stage the world’s largest Children’s Health and Development Expo. The event will be spread over three days, with over 100 seminars, workshops and trial classes, and more than 120 exhibitors at Suntec Convention Centre. You can visit their official website for more details.