5 June 2010: Dumpling Festival Garden Fair @ Albert Mall.

The annual event is a highlight in Kampong Glam attended by many residents and grassroots leaders.  The Opening Ceremony cum trade fair at Albert Mall is apt as the venue is a cross-road for both residents and tourists. Dumpling Festival 2010 Opens @ Albert Mall on 5 June 2010 by MP for Jalan Besar GRC and Advisor to Kampong Glam GROs, Ms Denise Phua.

This Dumpling Festival or Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.

The festival commemorates Qu Yuan, an honest minister and a patriotic poet from the Chu Kingdom during the Warring States period of the Zhou Dynasty. A descendant of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. He was banished to exile when he failed to persuaded other states to unite against Qin, a stronger state. When Qin conquered Chu, Qiu Yuan was so aggrieved that he drowned himself in the Miluo River. Civilians around the area rowed their boats out to try to save him or to recover his body. They beat on drums and gongs to frighten away fishes and sea creature to prevent them from attacking his body. For the same reason they also threw rice dumplings into the river to feed the sea creatures. In remembrance of Qu Yuan, it became a custom to organize Dragon boat races and to consume dumplings.

Today, the Dumpling Festival is a celebration embraced by both Chinese and non-Chinese, a unique feature of multi-racial and multi-cultural Singapore

For more photos on this event, go to Photo Gallery