Diva's Illuminating Experience at Alliance Francais' "The Little Prince In the Dark" Exhibition

Out of the three "The Little Prince"-centric exhibitions held during Voila! French Festival, Red Dot Diva thinks the one held at Alliance Francais called "The Little Prince in the Dark" is the most special. It was designed to bring "The Little Prince" to life for the visually impaired in a sensory as well as auditory manner. But that does not mean that the sighted are not able to enjoy it as well.

(Click here to read Red Dot Diva's "The Little Prince" exhibit encounters at the Fullerton Hotel.)

Upon entering the premises and foyer of the building, there are already several of the iconic bright yellow planets and stars dotting the area. At the far end of the ground level, another statue of The Little Prince greets the visitors.

Pac-Man Celebrates His 35th Birthday Celebration, Plus the "Pixel" Movie in August 2015!

Raise your hands, all those who remember spending hours in an arcade, steering a hungry yellow round creature round a maze, and having him munch pellets and fruits, and escaping from his relentless enemies named Blinky, Inky, Pinky & Clyde.

Well, that famous creature is PAC-MAN, and he turned 35 years old on 22 May! Doesn't that one feel nostalgic (and old)?

PAC-MAN is a classic when it comes to arcade video games. It is the #1 arcade game in the world, and on his birthday, fans in various cities will be celebrating it in true PAC-MAN fashion.

In his birthplace Japan, over 350 participants wearing yellow raincoats gathered at Tokyo Tower to attempt to break the Guinness World Records title for the Largest Human Image of PAC-MAN. And they succeeded! The image of PAC-MAN was 10.5 metres in size. Check out the NHK news article and video of the feat here. Celebrities like actor Shingo Yanagisawa and creator Professor Toru Iwantani also joined in the festivities.

Meet Legendary Mecha Designer Kunio Okawara at "GUNDAM Docks in Singapore", 6 June 2015

Pic: ©SOTSU・SUNRISE

Here are some exciting news for local fans of GUNDAM! As announced earlier, the epic "GUNDAM Docks in Singapore" exhibition is set to kick-off on 4 June 2015 at Takashimaya. The event will run more than 3 weeks till 28 June.

Here's a big tip! On May 30 and 31, lookout for a special surprise that weekend! A GUNDAM transporter is set to be out roaming on the local streets of Red Dot Island. More details about this will be coming soon.
 
As for 6 June (Saturday), this is an important date for hardcore GUNDAM lovers.

Step Into The World of "The Little Prince" at The Fullerton Hotel in Singapore

The Little Prince at the Fullerton entrance

As part of Voila! French Festival that is currently underway, the organizers has placed the focus on a well-loved character "The Little Prince" from Antoine de Sainte-Exupéry's wonderfully-written and illustrated tale of the same name.

Red Dot Diva has heard of several people who say that "The Little Prince" is their favourite childhood story book. But she thinks that the story about the mysterious regal from Asteroid 325 is still relevant to an adult of any age.

Now, fans and new readers in Red Dot Island can venture into the world of "The Little Prince".

Get Fit with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Dojo Experience and DC Justice League Run!

Who says Nerds can't be physically fit too?

Not all superheroes are blessed with superpowers. So, they would have to consistently work out to maintain strength and dexterity to fight the baddies! Just look at Red Dot Diva's fave superhero, Batman!

So, if one is aiming to add a bit of muscle to their bods, Red Dot Diva recommends that the upcoming 4-week June school holidays would be a great time to start.

Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Dojo
Children's cable channel, Nickeldodeon is set to train up some young ones on their turtle ninja skills with a Dojo hosted at Downtown East.

There will be the following activities at the Dojo:

Diva Chats With Paul Levitz and Sonny Liew About The New "Dr. Fate" Series

When Red Dot Diva first got wind of Paul Levitz's latest DC Comics project "Dr. Fate", she never expected him to be working with Singapore-based artist, Sonny Liew. They seemed such an unlikely duo, as Sonny's quirky expressive style suggests that it may appeal more to a certain kind of crowd that may not be as familiar with Paul's extensive works.

But then stranger things have happened. In fact, Red Dot Diva thinks this fresh and unique collaboration is what makes the upcoming "Dr. Fate" series so intriguing!

Red Dot Diva *had* to find out more about "Dr. Fate" from both creators, and here are their answers to her nosy questions:

Red Dot Diva: How did this "Dr. Fate" collaboration come about?
Paul: I know Sonny’s work back to "Her Faith in Frankie" and always enjoyed his imagination. When Dan Didio and Jim Lee asked me to think about an artist for this new series with a very personal style, I suggested him, and was so pleased they were enthusiastic and able to work it out.

Sonny: Yeah Paul and I met each other at the Singapore Comic Con (STGCC) a few years back, when he was a special guest there . We’ve been in touch intermittently, and when he asked if I’d be keen to work with him on "Dr. Fate" it didn’t take me long at all to say yes. I’m still worried about how the art style will received though, but hopefully crossed fingers and toes will help a bit.

SRT's Shakespeare in the Park 2015: "The Tempest" Raises A Moderate Squall

It rained a couple of hours before showtime when Red Dot Diva attended SRT's Shakespeare in the Park last year (the play was The Merchant of Venice). As fate has it, the weather did a repeat performance again on this year's Labour Day show for "The Tempest".

(Click here to read a previous article on SRT's "The Tempest".)

The dark clouds refused to disperse even after the gates opened at about 6:40PM. As the streaming crowd settled their mats on the lawn, it continued to drizzle. At one point, the rain got heavier, and umbrellas began popping up around the field like colourful mushrooms. Yet, the crowd, hopefuly and undeterred huddling beneath their shade or ponchos, was hopeful that the show will go on.

And it did. It was a sold-out performance that night, and SRT was determined to have the show go on. Luckily, after a short prayer to the weather angels, the rain showed signs of subsiding, with the sky even offering a rainbow tribute. The open-air stage was then promptly wiped and mopped up to get ready for the performance.

Holy Mecha!!! GUNDAM Docks At Singapore, 4 - 28 June 2015!

Pic: ©SOTSU・SUNRISE

Giant robots (also called mechas) from space war drama franchise GUNDAM will be arriving in town on 4 - 28 June 2015 in an epic exhibition called "Gundam Docks in Singapore"! "Gundam Docks in Singapore" will be the largest GUNDAM exhibition in Asia.

This is such a perfect timing because of the month-long school holidays that will be underway here on Red Dot Island, and a new generation of fans will be inspired to the world of science-fiction, robotics and imaginative story-telling.

GUNDAM first started out as a anime series back in 1979, a couple of years after Star Wars Ep IV was released in theatres worldwide. The first series "Mobile Suit Gundam" (機動戦士ガンダム, Kidō Senshi Gundam) was written and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino. It was the first space war televised anime series and its stories sparked a whole new world of imagination. GUNDAM's follow-up media properties, like manga and video games, build up an even larger following, and it is now one of the the biggest and lucrative toy collecting franchises there.

Naturally, through the years, the hype caught on in other countries (especially East Asian language-speaking ones, where there is a large number of anime/ manga lovers) and Red Dot Island is definitely one of them.

Now, thanks to leading toy maker/ video game publisher Bandai Namco Asia and Takashimaya Department Store, fans of GUNDAM will be able to take in the glorious sight of the mechas docking in on the island next month! This event of gigantic proportions is to celebrate the 35th anniversary of GUNDAM model kit and SG50, Singapore's 50th birthday.

Get Inspired with LEGO's "The Shapes of Imagination" Exhibited at Suntec

Talk about toys which help to stimulate creativity and innovation, and internationally popular construction sets company LEGO® comes to mind.

To spur builders to think and conceive ideas differently, the first LEGO® Certified Store in Red Dot Island will be displaying a one-of-a-kind multi-dimensional scultpure called "The Shapes of Imagination" - just for this weekend only!

Local Star Wars Fans Swarm Suntec to Celebrate The Force!

Last weekend, Star Wars fans living in Red Dot Island celebrated May the 4th early at Suntec. The two-day event called "Celebrate The Force" was chock(hold)-ful of intergalactic activities like lightsaber fight performances, toy photographer workshops and various displays of art, toy collections and merchandise.

Red Dot Diva popped by the Suntec Atrium right after completing her FCBD run at GnB Comics on 2nd May. Judging by the constant flow of people at the venue, there are more Star Wars fans here on the island than one would expect. Pop-culture lovers, toy collectors, and several families with younglings milled around the area taking in the festivities.

To the right of the main stage was a long table full of personal collections of Star Wars toys, like these:

FCBD 2015 - Two Local Shops; So Much Swag!

FCBD (Free Comic Book Day) is the kind of special Saturday where all the geeks are out in full force, visiting their favourite stores and hunting down free comics.

This year, Red Dot Diva and her friends went to two places - the Kinokuniya main store and local favourite, GnB Comics.

Kinokuniya opens at 10 AM, but the FCBD waiting line started more than 2 hours earlier! Out from the geek gang, Sarahcoldheart and Maxsterism were the earliest, with Jas joining them about half an hour later.

Red Dot Diva missed her bus and was nearly caught in a heavy downpour, and arrived at the store at about 8:40 AM. By then, there were already about 25-30 people in line.

Celebrate the Force Early for Star Wars Day - This Weekend at Suntec!

May the 4th is international Star Wars Day!

With that actual date falling on a work day, when most Imperial, Rebels and intergalactic species of various realms busy doing their respective jobs, celebration will come a little earlier on Red Dot Island.

To connect deeper with the Force, head down to a 2-day event at Suntec, called "Celebrate The Force".

The first 100 people to attend the event get an exclusive Star Wars goodie bag. So do head there early!

The details are:
Venue: Suntec, East Wing Atrium, Level 1
Date: 2nd and 3rd May 2015
Time: 2nd May - 11 AM to 9 PM;  3rd May - 11 AM to 7 PM
Cost: Free of charge

There will be all sorts of Star Wars activities that will be suitable for big kids and not so big ones! ;) These include: