Pink Dot Singapore write-up.
Now that I have some time on my hands, I am going to write about Pink Dot.
I did not attend Pink Dot 2009, due to my pregnancy with Dot (my second girl) and quickly grabbed the opportunity to attend Pink Dot 2010 on the 15th of May.
I arrived early. Hong Lim Park was slowly filling up. There was some music, people dressed in all shades of pink sat on pink plastic sheets and the atmosphere felt like a carnival. I took out my camera, photographed a few scenes and wandered around. I was given a pink handout and the pink mascot (fan?). Everyone was smiling, kissing and hugging each other. It reminded me so much of the Reclaim The Night rallies I used to attend in Perth, Western Australia - terrific vibe and terrific people rallied around a good cause: the freedom to love. Whether you are straight or gay, you have the freedom to love and to be loved. That's human. I want my girls to grow up in a world where people love each other, regardless of their race, their religion and their sexual orientation. This freedom to love is also explored/examined in my spec fic stories, especially in Oysters, Pearls and Magic.
More people started to fill Hong Lim Park. I met up with old friends. The vibe was incredible. People were smiling. Then Tan Kheng Hua, Adrian Pang and DJ BigKid drew everyone's attention to the middle of the circle (circle? how appropriate!) and the program started: a dikir barat performance, dances (Indian, hip hop), drumming and a dragon dance. As the minutes ticked closer to the main event (the formation of the dot), we were instructed to first form a heart. It felt a bit like herding cats, but in the end, the heart was formed! After the heart was the dot. Yay! We had done it!
Kudos to the organizers of Pink Dot for bringing together a powerful and touching event. May Pink Dot 2011 be bigger, more pink and better!
I did not attend Pink Dot 2009, due to my pregnancy with Dot (my second girl) and quickly grabbed the opportunity to attend Pink Dot 2010 on the 15th of May.
I arrived early. Hong Lim Park was slowly filling up. There was some music, people dressed in all shades of pink sat on pink plastic sheets and the atmosphere felt like a carnival. I took out my camera, photographed a few scenes and wandered around. I was given a pink handout and the pink mascot (fan?). Everyone was smiling, kissing and hugging each other. It reminded me so much of the Reclaim The Night rallies I used to attend in Perth, Western Australia - terrific vibe and terrific people rallied around a good cause: the freedom to love. Whether you are straight or gay, you have the freedom to love and to be loved. That's human. I want my girls to grow up in a world where people love each other, regardless of their race, their religion and their sexual orientation. This freedom to love is also explored/examined in my spec fic stories, especially in Oysters, Pearls and Magic.
More people started to fill Hong Lim Park. I met up with old friends. The vibe was incredible. People were smiling. Then Tan Kheng Hua, Adrian Pang and DJ BigKid drew everyone's attention to the middle of the circle (circle? how appropriate!) and the program started: a dikir barat performance, dances (Indian, hip hop), drumming and a dragon dance. As the minutes ticked closer to the main event (the formation of the dot), we were instructed to first form a heart. It felt a bit like herding cats, but in the end, the heart was formed! After the heart was the dot. Yay! We had done it!
Kudos to the organizers of Pink Dot for bringing together a powerful and touching event. May Pink Dot 2011 be bigger, more pink and better!