Octoburst! offers free Children’s Day programmes at Esplanade on Oct 2

Octoburst! invites children to play, create, listen, sing, dance and share stories together.

Published Sep 20, 2026, 11:22 AM

Updated Sep 20, 2026, 11:22 AM

Octoburst! Children’s Festival returns to Esplanade on Oct 2 with free programmes for kids to play, create, sing and explore the arts.

Highlights include new story projects by children, sports activities, craft stations, musical theatre and a live concert.

The festival encourages families to connect and celebrate childhood through creative arts experiences designed from a child's perspective.

SINGAPORE – Kids can make Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay their playground on Oct 2 to celebrate Children’s Day.

Octoburst! – A Children’s Festival returns to the national performing arts centre, inviting young ones of all ages to play, create, listen, sing, dance and share stories together.

The festival could not run at the venue in 2025 due to the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, but the celebration was held through classroom visits across the island.

Families can look forward to nine free programmes on Oct 2, with several offering multiple time slots throughout the day.

All activities are designed with kids in mind, says Rachel Lim, senior producer at Esplanade.

“It starts with thinking about Children’s Day from a child’s point of view,” she says.

“We ask ourselves what might spark their curiosity and imagination, and how we can create opportunities for them to experience the arts in different ways, whether by watching, making, playing or exploring,” she says.

The line-up includes two new commissions created alongside Zip Zap Zoom Collective: Dear Story Keeper and The Story Keeper’s Room. Both projects feature original tales written by pre-school and primary school pupils.

Pop into the Esplanade White Room any time between 10am and 6pm to read them. Or hang around for the 20-minute live storytelling sessions, where the Story Keeper and his helper bring the tales to life, with four sessions from noon to 5pm.

Over at the Esplanade Lawn, children can burn off energy at Come and Play – Sports Day! by theatremaker and facilitator Cheryl Ho.

This 45-minute non-competitive group activity has four sessions from 10am to 5.15pm, letting kids zigzag around cones and play a lively game of bingo to make new friends.

Children can craft flowers to match their moods, such as happy yellow or peaceful blue. PHOTO: WAHSOSIMPLE

Children can craft flowers to match their moods, such as happy yellow or peaceful blue.

At the Esplanade Concourse, craft outfit WahSoSimple hosts a drop-in station from 10am to 6pm, where paper “florists” will help children craft bright blooms that match their mood, whether it is happy yellow or peaceful blue.

At 4pm, children from The Voice Company will present a 30-minute session of popular musical theatre songs.

Children from The Voice Company will perform musical theatre songs. PHOTO: THE VOICE COMPANY

Children from The Voice Company will perform musical theatre songs.

PHOTO: THE VOICE COMPANY

In the evening, head to the DBS Foundation Outdoor Theatre for The Feelings Farm: Live In Concert. Five years after its debut, the musical by Amanda Chong and Julian Wong returns in concert form.

Actors Ethel Yap, Marcus Cheong, Nadya Zaheer and Shafiqhah Efandi will perform across two 30-minute sets, at 6pm and 8pm.

The Esplanade's children's mascot Pip at the 2024 edition of Octoburst! PHOTO: ALVIEALIVE

The Esplanade's children's mascot Pip at the 2024 edition of Octoburst!

Now in its 22nd edition since it started in 2005, the festival continues to invite families to slow down and celebrate childhood together.

As Lim says, the day is really about helping families connect through simple creative moments.

“For me, Octoburst! is about giving children and their families different ways to encounter the arts and to make the festival their own on this day that celebrates them,” she says.

“We hope they will leave having discovered something new, expressed themselves, and perhaps seen the arts in a way they hadn’t before.”

Octoburst! – A Children’s Festival

Where: Various spots across Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, 1 Esplanade Drive When: Oct 2, various times Admission: Free Info: For details, go to esplanade.com/octoburst

Elisa Chia is a correspondent at The Straits Times, writing parenting and lifestyle features.

Octoburst！邀请孩子们一起玩耍、创作、聆听、唱歌、跳舞和分享故事。

发布于 2026 年 9 月 20 日上午 11:22

更新于2026年9月20日上午11:22

十月狂欢！儿童节将于 10 月 2 日重返滨海艺术中心，为孩子们提供免费的娱乐活动，让他们玩耍、创作、唱歌和探索艺术。

亮点包括儿童创作的新故事项目、体育活动、手工艺站、音乐剧和现场音乐会。

该节日旨在通过从儿童视角设计的创意艺术体验，鼓励家庭增进感情，共同庆祝童年。

新加坡——10月2日儿童节当天，孩子们可以将滨海艺术中心当作自己的游乐场。

十月狂欢节！——儿童节重返国家表演艺术中心，邀请各个年龄段的孩子们一起玩耍、创作、聆听、歌唱、跳舞和分享故事。

由于新加坡一级方程式大奖赛，该节日无法在 2025 年在该场地举办，但庆祝活动通过走访全岛各地的教室进行。

10月2日，家庭可以期待九项免费活动，其中几项活动在一天内提供多个时间段。

滨海艺术中心高级制作人瑞秋·林表示，所有活动都是以儿童为中心设计的。

“首先要从孩子的角度去思考儿童节，”她说。

“我们问自己，什么可以激发他们的好奇心和想象力，以及我们如何创造机会让他们以不同的方式体验艺术，无论是观看、制作、玩耍还是探索，”她说。

此次展览阵容包括与Zip Zap Zoom Collective合作创作的两部全新作品：《亲爱的故事守护者》和《故事守护者的房间》。这两个项目均以学前班和小学生创作的原创故事为特色。

上午 10 点至下午 6 点之间，您可以随时前往滨海艺术中心白厅阅读这些故事。或者，您也可以留下来参加 20 分钟的现场故事会，故事讲述者和他的助手将故事生动地呈现出来，每天中午 12 点至下午 5 点共有四场。

在滨海艺术中心草坪上，孩子们可以在戏剧制作人兼组织者 Cheryl Ho 的“来玩吧——运动会！”活动中释放能量。

这项 45 分钟的非竞争性团体活动从上午 10 点到下午 5 点 15 分有四场，孩子们可以绕着圆锥跑，玩热闹的宾果游戏，结交新朋友。

孩子们可以根据自己的心情制作花朵，比如快乐的黄色或宁静的蓝色。图片：WAHSOSIMPLE

孩子们可以根据自己的心情制作花朵，例如快乐的黄色或宁静的蓝色。

在滨海艺术中心广场，手工艺公司 WahSoSimple 于上午 10 点至下午 6 点开设了一个无需预约的体验站，纸艺“花艺师”将帮助孩子们制作与他们心情相符的鲜艳花朵，无论是快乐的黄色还是宁静的蓝色。

下午 4 点，来自 The Voice Company 的孩子们将带来 30 分钟的流行音乐剧歌曲表演。

来自“声音剧团”的孩子们将表演音乐剧歌曲。图片：声音剧团

来自“声音剧团”的孩子们将表演音乐剧歌曲。

图片：语音公司

晚上，前往星展银行基金会户外剧场欣赏《情感农场：现场音乐会》。这部由张曼玉和黄俊杰创作的音乐剧，在首演五年后，以音乐会的形式回归。

演员 Ethel Yap、Marcus Cheong、Nadya Zaheer 和 Shafiqhah Efandi 将于下午 6 点和晚上 8 点进行两场 30 分钟的表演。

滨海艺术中心的儿童吉祥物Pip亮相2024年Octoburst音乐节！照片：ALVIEALIVE

滨海艺术中心的儿童吉祥物 Pip 亮相 2024 年 Octoburst 音乐节！

自 2005 年创办以来，该节日已举办至第 22 届，它继续邀请家庭放慢脚步，共同庆祝童年时光。

正如林所说，这一天的真正意义在于通过简单的创意时刻帮助家庭建立联系。

“对我来说，Octoburst！的意义在于让孩子们和他们的家人以不同的方式接触艺术，并在这个庆祝他们的日子里，让这个节日成为他们自己的节日，”她说。

“我们希望他们离开时能够有所发现，表达自我，或许还能以一种他们以前从未有过的方式看待艺术。”

十月狂欢节！——儿童节

地点：滨海艺术中心各处 – 滨海艺术中心，滨海大道1号 时间：10月2日，不同时段 门票：免费 详情：请访问 esplanade.com/octoburst

Elisa Chia是《海峡时报》的记者，撰写育儿和生活方式方面的文章。