Countdown to ChildAid 2009

[Written by Grace K from Entertainment]


Imagine a world where people help people, children help children and then, you have a taste of what ChildAid is all about. In its 5th year, the event is organized by The Straits Times and The Business Times, bringing together Singapore’s best young musical talents in a showcase that also raises funds for children in disadvantaged circumstances.

What’s more, this year’s ChildAid event will be held at Resorts World Sentosa from Dec 19 – 21 and this will be the FIRST public event to be held here. Roll out the red carpet as this means we are just days away from the concert.

And yes… this also creates a lot of pressure and excitement on our teams to ensure that everything is done to perfection with a healthy dose of oooohs and aaaahs.

If you think about it, ChildAid is almost like Singapore Child Idol as it brings together the island’s best kinder talent with even more nervous parents waiting in the wings. Though there’s no 1st prize, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is an army of talent scouts lurking in the crowd on the lookout for the next Big Star. But I digress.

2009 will be the biggest show in ChildAid history with not only 15 fantastic solo performances, but also for the first time, a choir and a full orchestra. Expect to be entertained. In total, there will be more than 250 performers for this entire concert, in comparison to just 61 in 2008. The orchestra which is made up of the best musicians from several different school orchestras grew from an initial 50 to an 80-strong orchestra because of the quality of talent.

Over 500 kids from all over Asia were auditioned to get into the top 15 spots. These kids are really talented and though this is no stage competition, you can imagine the pressure these kids face in making the cut. The ones who go on and grow up to become professional performers and famous stars will encourage a new generation of talent to forgo the usual iron rice bowl professions and hold on to their dreams. (I’ve always fantasized about becoming the Pink Princess of Death Metal. Detroit Metal City! But then again, a girl’s gotta have her shoes.)

Though all the kids who auditioned were good, there were three in particular that truly stood out. Prodigy #1, Abigail Sin is a 16-year-old pianist who has not only won more awards than I can type but has played for President Nathan on numerous occasions at the Istana. How cool is that? At 16, the only award I won was for making Rock Buns in Home Economics.

Prodigy #2 is Rachel Chua, the exceptional 15-year-old TV performer you may have seen on the popular Taiwanese TV contest, One Million Star. And then there is the phenomenal 10- year- old drummer boy, Theron Lim, who is the Eddie Van Halen of Orchard Road and has been keeping the rhythm to the beat since the tender age of six.

The ChildAid performance will take at our brand new 1,600-seat theatre which will eventually house our resident show, Voyage de la Vie, an original RWS-produced heart-pounding circus spectacular! The word is quite vernacular. (More on VDLV in a future blog)

To give ChildAid a little bit of that somethin’ something’ and RWS pizzazz, we volunteered Creative Director extraordinaire, Jason Ramsburg to choreograph a special song and dance number a la High School Musical’s “We’re all in this together”. This is not to be missed!

See you at the show. Rehearsals start in Dec so look out for the behind-the-scenes pictures on this blog.

Child Aid will be held at the Festive Grand in Resorts World Sentosa from Dec 19 to 21 2009. Tickets priced at $15, $20 and $30 can be purchased from early next month at www.sistic.com.sg

Announcing... RWS' FIRST event!

Guess what folks? We are having our first-ever major event ahead of our opening!

ChildAid, which is a charity concert organized by the Straits Times and the Business Times, will be held at Resorts World at Sentosa’s Festive Grand, with a seating capacity of 1,600 people.

This is just sooooo exciting! Here’s the press release for your reading pleasure. (Apologies for wall of text!)

(Photo: ChildAid 2008)

For immediate release

ChildAid to be FIRST event held at Resorts World at Sentosa

Singapore, 14 July 2009 – Mark your diaries for 19 to 21 December 2009! That is when ChildAid will be the first event to be staged at Resorts World at Sentosa.

ChildAid is a charity concert organised by The Straits Times and The Business Times. The concert, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, showcases the best of Singapore's young musical talents in support of two charities – The ST School Pocket Money Fund and The BT Budding Artists Fund.

Said ChildAid organising chairman, Mr Peter Khoo: "The economic recession has led to a rise in the number of children who need help to pay for a meal in school or to continue their artistic pursuits.

"Thus, we are extremely grateful to Resorts World at Sentosa for giving us this honour, which we believe will boost fund-raising efforts. Their decision also benefits Singapore's young musical talents for they will be creating history by being the first to perform at the Resort.''

Mr Han Fook Kwang, Editor of The Straits Times, said that the number of student beneficiaries on The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund has risen by about 40 per cent since last year.

The ST School Pocket Money Fund helps 11,000 needy children pay for a meal during recess or transport to school. It would require $5.7 million this year – the highest it has had to raise since its inception in 2000.

Mr Han said: “Our tie-up with Resorts World at Sentosa will bolster ChildAid's ambition to raise money for needy children and showcase the many talented youths here.

''We are determined to do our utmost to help the many children affected by the economic downturn,” Mr Han added.

Mr Alvin Tay, Editor of The Business Times, said that ChildAid talents also serve as good role models.

Mr Tay said: "Singapore has many outstanding young musicians who want to help. They motivate the many children we support at the BT Budding Artists Fund.''

The BT Budding Artists Fund, initiated by The Old Parliament House Limited and adopted by The Business Times in 2005, aims to give underprivileged children a chance to nurture their artistic talents, be it in art or music.

ChildAid 2009 will be staged at Festive Grand, Resorts World at Sentosa’s very own theatre which can seat up to 1,600 people.

Festive Grand, which will host Resorts World at Sentosa's resident musical extravaganza Voyage de la Vie, is just one of the many attractions found within Singapore’s only island integrated resort.

Owned by Genting Singapore, S$6.59-billion venture will include South-east Asia’s first and only Universal Studios theme park, the world’s largest oceanarium, six hotels, a casino, and a host of other entertainment options.

Ms Andrea Teo, Vice President of Entertainment for Resorts World at Sentosa said: "Besides being the first event at Resorts World at Sentosa, we will be dedicating our expertise and experience in the field of stage production, choreography amongst many other things.”

“The talents on display for previous ChildAid concerts were tremendous. We want to build on that success and ChildAid 2009 held at Festive Grand is going to present these talents on a grander and even larger scale,” Ms Teo said.

Ms Teo, a former Executive Producer and Director of television sitcoms such as Under One Roof, Phua Chu Kang and Happy Belly, will also be part of the ChildAid producing team, together with Mary Loh and Jason Ramsburg from the Resorts World entertainment team, Arts House general manager Colin Goh and reknowned musican Iskandar Ismail.

Ms Teo adds: "Resorts World at Sentosa is not scheduled to open until early next year, but when SPH approached us with the opportunity to contribute to the cause, our different teams , ranging from Projects to Entertainment and Traffic, sat down and decided that we will pull all stops to make this happen. ChildAid will be the inaugural show in Resorts World, and the first performance that we will raise our curtains for at our Festive Grand theatre.’’

Resorts World at Sentosa is on-track for its early 2010 soft opening, which will include Universal Studios Singapore, four hotels, part of FestiveWalk and the casino.

As in previous years, The Straits Times and The Business Times will be conducting a nationwide
search for talents. Those who wish to audition must be Singapore residents and not older than 19 years of age.

Said ChildAid artistic director Mr Iskandar Ismail, who is last year's Cultural Medallion recipient: "Many ChildAid performers of the past have gone on to bigger things. Our search for the best fresh talent in Singapore begins today. So do write to us for an audition.''

He cited the opening ceremony of the Asian Youth Games as an example. "Three of the vocalists who performed at the Asian Youth Games opening ceremony came from ChildAid,'' said Mr Ismail.

Teenagers Amni Musfirah, Lian Kim Selby and Nathan Hartono performed in ChildAid before being picked up by Asian Youth Games organisers.

It was the same for soprano Janani Sridhar, who performed at the first ChildAid concert in 2005. The 19-year-old sang the national anthem at last year's Singapore Formula One race.
At the press conference, the organizers revealed the first three performers for ChildAid 2009.

They are: 15-year-old singer Amni from School of the Arts as well as drummers Zidann Zalizann, 8, from Greenridge Primary School, and Aaron Lee, 13, from Queensway Secondary School.

Said Mr Ismail: “As this is the fifth anniversary of ChildAid, we wanted to bring back the best of the talent we have put on show before.

“Amni, Zidann and Aaron were outstanding in last year’s sell-out show,” Mr Ismail added.
ChildAid 2009 is seeking sponsors to help its charities.

There are four sponsorship tiers – Diamond ($200,000 and above) Platinum ($100,000 $199,999) Gold ($50,000-$99,999) Silver ($30,000-$49,999) and Bronze ($10,000-$29,999).

Interested sponsors may contact Ms Wee Ngiap Hiang at weenh@sph.com.sg or at 6319 5054.

Details on ticket sales will be announced in October, two months before ChildAid 2009 opens at Resorts World at Sentosa.
**************************************************************************************
TO AUDITION FOR CHILDAID 2009
The concert organizers are looking for English-medium acts for the event. Interested talents in the fields of music, dance or emceeing must be Singapore residents below the age of 19.
They must send in their audition materials to be considered for selection. The preferred format for audition material is DVD, VCD or CD. Applicants should include a photograph and a one-page write-up of themselves, their musical achievements, and why they want to be a part of ChildAid.
Other essential details include their name, age and school, as well as their parents’ name, contact number and e-mail address.
Audition materials can be sent to childaid@sph.com.sg or to the following address:
ChildAid 2009
Singapore Press Holdings
1000 Toa Payoh North, News Centre
Singapore 318994
The closing date for submissions is Mon, 17 August 2009.
Shortlisted youths will be invited to the auditions on Sun, 30 August 2009.
A panel of judges led by ChildAid artistic director Iskandar Ismail will assess all applications and successful applications will be invited to audition.

Prep, prep and more prep

Two big events for the Comms Team coming up these few days.

The first, which is to be held tomorrow, is a tour of the Resorts World at Sentosa site.

Needless to say we are praying for good weather tomorrow.

We are in the midst of preparing logistical stuff like boots for the journalists who are coming, helmets, drinks, transport etc.

It's been mad.

The office is also filled with boxes as we get down to preparing goodie bags for the 300 children who will be coming for the aRWSome Kids' Date at Lido, where the kids, who come from the various CDCs, will get to watch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

There are lots of goodies for them: board games, food and beverage (of course), an uber-cool Transformers notepad with Bumblebee on the cover, and even a Transformer toy, amongst loads of stuff kindly sponsored by loads of big-hearted people.

:)

In the meantime, we have to get back to work, so stick around for what happens next!

RWS goes hiking!

IT IS most gratifying to see smiles, especially on the faces of kids.

You know what we mean right?

Somehow, it makes everything worthwhile.

As mentioned in our earlier posts, the RWS team took 30 kids up Mount Imbiah on Jun 12.

This is not the first time we are organising something like this: back in Nov 2008, we had organised the first outing to the movies at a screening of Madagascar 2.

Then, about 300 children from various Community Chest Family Service Centres and the Chinese Development Assistant Councils were given a visual treat, as well as breakfast sponsored by McDonald's and fruits for dessert, compliments from Chilli Api.

We decided to take a different route this time (literally!), taking the children aged 7 to 12 on a hike instead.

The entire group, split into two smaller clusters, set off at 2 pm on a balmy Friday and were each led by a guide.

All teams later congregated at the beach for a picnic, and had a feast of burgers and other goodies.

Such fun. And as you know, kids being kids, some were of course running all over the place in gleeful joy.

T'was a sight to behold.

But really, really. It was all worth the planning and effort, as we were touched to see the children having fun.

A total of 15 staff turned up for this event, and the sad part is that there were many, many more who asked to be there as well, but had to be turned down because of space constraints.

Our next aRWSome (pronounced 'awesome') Kids' Date will be held later this month, and this time, we will be treating several hundred children to watch the new Transformers movie. (See the trailer here.)

AWESOME stuff. Heh. It would be absolutely fabulous as more RWS staffers can turn up and help out then.

Sneak peek!

Guess what this tee-shirt is for!

Like yesterday, we are busy planning and working out the kinks for this Friday's walk.

15 Resorts World at Sentosa staff members will be accompanying 40 children aged 7 to 12 and who are from CDAC on this trek up Mt Imbiah.

Accompanying them are three guides leading the trek.

Really, really hope the children will enjoy themselves and that the weather is good!

aRWsome Kids' Day

Planning is in progress for next Friday's aRWSome Kids' Day, where a group of 40 children will be brought for a nature walk around Sentosa.

We are going mad (and of course having fun) working out the logistics.

This is part of Resorts World at Sentosa's CSR efforts, where we endeavour to make a difference in the lives of children.

After this, we will be having a premiere screening of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, for another group of children at a cinema later this month.

Really, really hope that the kids will enjoy themselves.

Just wish that there were activities and events like these when we were younger (eons ago)