Yayoi. More random food. Pink Dot. And guess which concert made us squeal like school girls? Let's get nostalgic about 2017...
It’s almost the end of December, so you know what that means — goodbye 2017, and hello 2018! With a plethora of music festivals, beauty trends, fashion collabs, hot new cafes and restaurants popping up around Singapore in 2017, it’s totally understandable if you’re having trouble keeping track of the milestones of the year. To remind you of the positive things that happened in our tropical city this year, the Honeycombers team has put together some of their favourite 2017 highlights.
1. Prince Harry’s first official visit
Besides the October royal visit of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, we were absolutely swooned by Prince Harry’s stay in Singapore. The British prince (and media darling) participated in iftar — the Muslim practice of breaking fast — with young Singaporean Muslims, attended a reception by local non-governmental organisation Action for Aids (AFA) and played polo for charity by taking part in the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup in the month of June. But of course, we can’t go on without congratulating the royal charmer on his engagement with actress Meghan Markle — he’s still on our imaginary husband list though.
2. Pink Dot celebrates love, no matter what
Early this year, Pink Dot organisers revealed that only Singaporeans and permanent residents are allowed to attend the annual event, restricting foreigners to join in celebrating the “freedom to love” — ironic, isn’t it? Nonetheless, the new law didn’t dampen our spirits and there was plenty of love and joy to spread around the fabulously pink event — check out more the pictures our photographer Darissa Lee took!
3. Yayoi Kusama sent us all dotty
The highlight of 2017 for our Editor, Selina? “YAYOI! The Life is the Heart of a Rainbow exhibit had almost everyone in the city interested in art, and it doesn’t get better than that. Adults and kids going mad with the stickers in the Obliteration Room during the Children’s Biennale gave me so many warm and fuzzies (and great Insta moments), and I’ll never forget that Infinity Mirrored Room. Like being in a space filled with sparkling souls. Plus, Yayoi’s red wig and loud sweaters made me realise exactly what I want to look like in 30 years’ time…”
4. Ballsy millennials tackling casual racism
Things got heated up early this year when an Indian-Singaporean actor posted about his audition for a local film. What was meant to be a gesture of social justice resulted in an all-out war of words and ahem, races. While we can’t speak professionally for the film industry, this isn’t something to be swept under rug. So when CNA released its much-talked-about (the good and bad kind) social experiment video, rising social media satirist Preetipls was quick to upload her own clapback parody video — and we loved every minute of it.
5. The Downtown Line made our morning commute suck less
East-siders (like me) were over the moon when the Downtown Line opened for business from Expo to Fort Canning Park in late October this year. On top of the stations running from Bukit Panjang to Chinatown (opened in 2013), the longest underground and driverless (!) MRT line connected folks from areas such as Bedok Reservoir, Tampines West, Geylang Bahru and Fort Canning to the CBD. According to our style editor Nafeesa, “I love my rides to work and back home now!” “God bless the Downtown Line,” says writer Delfina. Can we get an amen?
6. And the bike-sharing movement took off
The service that has taken the world by storm has finally reached our shores with not one, but three bike-sharing providers! So, are we as cool as London or Sweden now? Hmmmm. Such rent-and-park services saved many the hassle of wheeling a bike around, including our graphic designer Bee — “Bike-sharing apps got me around the city without having to walk and sweat!”
7. More random twists on food (we’ll try anything)
Besides snapping mouth-watering dishes for the ‘gram, Singaporeans also love trying new flavours. Here’s where alternative food comes in. This year, got a kick out of the Nasi Lemak Burger, whisky ramen, and Pezzo’s durian pizzas. And of course, we got on board the alternative coffee trend: golden milk and soy dandy lattes? Why not. Oh, and did we mention that more ice cream for dairy-free folks arrived? Ben & Jerry’s Non-Dairy selection? HoneyKids Asia editor Lindene was thrilled when it landed at Honeycombers HQ — “Only a fellow dairy intolerant soul will understand the magnitude of this event!”
8. Local makers and shakers making it big overseas
Ah, nothing like #supportlocal. We were buzzin’ when we found out that local artist Sonny Liew, known for his graphic novel ‘The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye’, was nominated for the Eisners (the comic book Oscars) this year. Even our writer Delfina managed to spot a translated copy of the graphic novel while in Barcelona! We even spotted homegrown brand Charles and Keith making waves in UK magazine, Wonderland. More local talent in the UK — grindcore band Wormrot impressed a crowd of headbangers at the mega Glastonbury Festival 2017, the first Singaporean band to ever perform at the British music fest.
9. More beauty for dark skin, light skin, and everything in between
What a time to be alive — more make-up lovers, of course. Inclusive beauty is the new now, with the arrival of Fenty Beauty and 3INA (pronounced mee-nah) in Singapore, filled with a plethora of products that cater to all skin types and colours. “Inclusive beauty brands all the way!” exclaims our style editor Nafeesa.
10. The Princess of Pop’s royal visit
Grammy-award winner Britney Spears’ first headliner in Singapore saw a stadium full of squealing fans, including our video producer (and self-proclaimed no.1 Brit Brit fan) Hubab Hood — “By far, one of the best moments of my 2017! Definitely a moment I’ll never forget!”
11. The phone of the future is here
Tech geeks are sure to love this latest gadget! Our writer (and resident tech guru) was ecstatic when she got her hands on the Google Pixel 2 XL, “Getting to try out the Google Pixel 2 XL before it was launched also changed my life. Every other phone now is inferior to me, I am starting to resent Siri, and my relationship with the iPhone has soured. Only gripe is that the only way to get one is to sign up with SingTel.”
12. We had Crazy Rich Asian fever
When it was announced that the Hollywood film based on local author Kevin Kwan’s best-selling novel Crazy Rich Asians will be filming in Singapore, we hunted down the shooting venues to get a glimpse of our favourite stars like Ken Jeong, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, Harry Shum and Michelle Yeoh. We reckon it’s a wrap, so now all we have to do is count down the days till screen time!
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