Five Footway Festival 2025

When: March 14 to 23, 2025

Where: Chinatown

Admission Fee: Free

Without question, Chinatown is a neighborhood with a rich history and heritage. There’s always an event here celebrating the district’s history and heritage, and this March, that event will be the Five Footway Festival. 

Named after Chinatown’s iconic five footways, this festival walks us through Chinatown’s storied past via exciting performances. From my experience, it’s like stepping into a storybook; I get dazzled by all the vibrant energy and colorful costumes and art pieces. 

For this year’s festival, you can expect a slew of cultural performances, immersive walking tours, interactive workshops, and more. Here are some of the programs you should include on your itinerary.

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Under One Roof

Under One Roof is a guided tour held at the Chinatown Heritage Center. The center is transformed to look like a house in 1950s Chinatown, so you get a glimpse into what the early residents’ lives were like. 

This guided tour also has a section about traditional crafts, and I’m personally excited to see that. 

The OG Hustlers

The OG Hustlers is another walking tour, but this time, it takes you through the heart of the five footways (yes, the festival’s namesake). During the tour, you’ll learn the stories about the people who made the area’s narrow paths into flourishing trade hubs. 

Aside from the five footways, you’ll also come across other historic landmarks, such as Pek Sin Choon (the oldest tea merchant in Singapore) and Tong Heng (a popular Cantonese pastry shop). Some of these landmarks are still active!

Letter Writer’s Lament

Personally, Letter Writer’s Lament is my number one most anticipated show during the festival. Blending history and theatre, this show is about the lives of immigrants in the 1940s—their struggles, hopes, and victories as they try to survive in a new place. 

This show is helmed by Let’s Go Tour, an award-winning tour operator, so needless to say, I have high expectations.

Hand Puppet Show: The Tiger Hero

Another one I’m looking forward to is the Hand Puppet Show: The Tiger Hero. This show is inspired by The Water Margin, a beloved Chinese classic novel, and it follows the story of Wu Song who has to conquer his fears and fight off a feral tiger. 

I hear this show uses traditional Chinese hand puppetry and modern theatrical techniques! 

Interactive Workshops 

Shows and walking tours aren’t the only things you can experience during the Five Footway Festival. You can also participate in interactive workshops!

Many of the workshops are food-related, so you can learn how to make certain treats and then get to eat them afterward. So far, the treats you can learn to make are ang ku kueh, Teochew png kueh, and egg huat kueh. 

There are non-food-related workshops as well. For example, there’s the Sights and Sounds of Chinese Opera workshop, which teaches you the basics of Cantonese opera. 

If you’re a crafty person, then you’ll love the workshop where you get to make bamboo pinwheels and bamboo wind chimes.