Dear Nyonyas and Babas
TICKETS FOR VIRTUAL CONVENTION ON SALE 8 SEPTEMBER
Tickets for the virtual (livestreamed) 33rd Baba Nyonya International Convention, to be held on 20 November 2021, will go on sale on 8 September at SISTIC (www.sistic.com.sg).
As previously mentioned, this is a hybrid physical-cum-virtual convention, during which the physical convention is concurrently livestreamed to an online audience.
For more details on the convention programme, please click on this link https://www.peranakan.org.sg/33rd-baba-nyonya-intl-convention
Join us as we bring the best of Peranakan culture to you.
For the very first time and ONLY time, two of our most outstanding Peranakan actors – Ivan Heng, the darling of Singapore contemporary theatre, and GT Lye, the only iconic matriarch of wayang Peranakan in the region – will take to the stage in a one-hour performance titled The Matriarchs.
The play is directed by award-winning Alvin Tan of The Necessary Stage and produced by The Peranakan Association Singapore.
It is adapted from the enduring play, Emily of Emerald Hill, and presented with special permission from Stella Kon Pte Ltd.
Following the play is a three-hour symposium featuring the cream of Peranakan thinkers and cultural champions as they deliberate on the theme, Keeping the Culture Alive.
The keynote address by historian and scholar Kwa Chong Guan will deal with the survivability of Peranakan Chinese culture and the community’s identity.
Three forums will follow after, featuring distinguished scholars and practitioners. The first panel will comprise Kennie Ting, Prof Wang Gungwu, Kwa Chong Guan, Prof Farish Noor, Dr Vivienne Wee; the second panel, Asst Prof Nala Lee, GT Lye, Josephine Chia, Kenneth Chan, Pillay Krishnan; and the third panel, John Teo, Dominic Low, Raymond Wong, Christopher Tan and Alvin Teo.
The panels will respectively reflect on three symposium sub-themes: Peranakan Culture & Community: Challenges, Pitfalls & Opportunities; Fading Heritage? Language, Literature & Rituals Living; and Traditions: Style, Food and Wayang.
SOLD OUT!!! TICKETS FOR PHYSICAL (IN-PERSON) CONVENTION
The limited tickets for the physical (in-person) convention were ‘snapped up’ three days after they were released for ballot on 21 August. Interest continued to flow in until the closing date on 25 August.
We balloted the tickets and seats soon after. Successful applicants have been informed by email. SISTIC will contact them to complete the purchase of tickets for the physical convention by mid-September.
We have put the unsuccessful applicants on the waiting list. Please be patient. We will keep you updated.
THE PERANAKAN MAGAZINE & THE PERANAKAN DINNER
As I write, our mid-year issue of The Peranakan magazine is scheduled for mailing out in early September in time for The virtual Peranakan Dinner on Saturday, 25 September 2021.
The magazine promises to be a visual treat and content-rich. It marks the interim return of former editor Nyonya Linda Chee to the helm.
More importantly, it is a special issue that doubles up as the programme for the long-delayed dinner.
This approach has flavoured the magazine’s design concept, enabling us to present it as a memorable gift particularly to dinner guests who are not yet members of The Peranakan Association Singapore.
We are grateful to the more than 200 dinner guests for their patience and understanding of the constant shifts in arrangements.
The organizing committee, very ably led by our First Vice-President Peggy Jeffs, is closely monitoring the variability of COVID-19 and is on its toes to adapt to and comply with any last-minute changes in the government’s Safe Management Measures.
The virtual Peranakan Dinner will NOT be postponed nor cancelled.
To all our Babas and Nyonyas, kamsiah manyak manyak for your continued support. Please take care of yourselves and stay healthy.
Blessings
Colin Chee
Keeping the Culture Alive
31 August 2021
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