Celebrate New Beginnings and Explore "My First Journey" at My Community Festival 2025

Venue: Varies depending on the events
Date: 1 – 17 August 2025
Admission: Varies depending on the events

Embark on a deeply personal and cultural journey with My Community Festival (MCF) 2025, happening from 1 to 17 August 2025. With the theme “My First Journey,” MCF 2025 invites you to explore over 70 immersive programmes across Singapore.

From postpartum rituals and confinement meals to spiritual renewal and emotional recovery, shedding light on how communities welcome, celebrate, and recover from life’s pivotal moments.

Discover What My Community Festival Is About

MCF2025 is a point of reflection on our own journeys, whether we are starting a new phase of life or wishing a loved one well on their journey. Births and beginnings are often an occasion for celebration. Through community tours, tastings, and meaningful partnerships with community members, MCF invites you to immerse yourself in a myriad of ways Singaporeans mark this key milestone. 

From vibrant celebrations that wish good luck and good health upon newborn children, to intimate stories of renewal and recovery, discover how our community comes together to take a step forward.

What’s New at My Community Festival 2025 

This year’s festival will feature seven exciting programme series exploring different ‘births’ and beginnings in Singaporeans life. Check out the event highlights you don’t want to miss:

My Breakfast Club

The most important meal of the day is breakfast -join our home cooks and uncover intimate and meaningful ways to prepare to face the challenges ahead; from traditional Norwegian fare such as beloved heart-shaped waffles served with brunost (brown cheese)and homemade jams, to comforting classics with a Eurasian twist such as chicken meatball congee, corned beef hash, and French toast with garnishes.

What’s For My Dinner

It is often said that it takes a village to raise a child. Come witness how that care is expressed through heartwarming and nourishing meals. In the days following childbirth, when recovery is paramount for the mother, confinement meals cooked by loved ones express love and well-wishes. 

Join our home cooks as they serve up meals such as Threadfin fish prized by the Teochews for its restorative properties, cooked in four different styles to ensure variety for the mother without straying from main ingredients that support healing, and other cuisines from across the world, each with their own blend of nutritious herbs and spices that seek to warm, nourish, and soothe.

My Prayers & Practices

Singaporeans profess belief to a wide spectrum of faiths, but each religion shares a common belief in that new life is a blessing. Discover the elaborate and meaningful rituals and practices we conduct to welcome new life, and the beliefs that underlay them. Check out some of the lists you can joins:

Rebirth and Reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism

Venue: Meet at the Entrance of Thekchen Choling (2 Beatty Lane, Singapore 209945)
Date: Sunday, 17 August 2025. 10am - 12pm
Admission: $12.50

Join Venerable Ani Chodron from Thekchen Choling for an enlightening session on Buddhist Reincarnation. This program will offer an introduction to the main tenets of Buddhism, with a special focus on the concept of rebirth, or Samsara, and how it shapes the understanding of life and the cycle of existence.

Explore the significance of pet blessings within the Buddhist tradition and how they are related to the reincarnation of animals. In addition to the teachings, you’ll enjoy a short tour of Thekchen Choling temple,where you can experience the serene atmosphere and learn more about Tibetan Buddhist practices. 

The session will conclude with an open Q&A, allowing you to ask any questions you may have about reincarnation, Buddhism, and the temple's unique practices. It’s a wonderful opportunity to deepen your understanding of this fascinating tradition and engage with the community in a meaningful way.

Catholic Infant Baptism from Church of St Mary of the Angels

Venue: Bukit Batok East Point (275 BukitBatok East Ave 4, Singapore 650275)
Date: Sunday, 17 August 2025. 2pm - 4pm
Admission: $12.50

Join the community at the Church of St Mary of the Angels for an engaging session on the Catholic faith and the sacrament of Baptism. Whether you're new to the Church or simply curious, this programme offers a clear, meaningful look into one of Catholicism’s most sacred rites.

Learn about the beliefs and traditions behind Baptism, its role in welcoming new members into the Christian community and the grace it imparts. You'll also gain insights on the preparation process — from catechism classes to the roles of parents and godparents.

To deepen your experience, you’ll witness an infant Baptism, giving you a firsthand observation of this beautiful and meaningful celebration. All are welcome to come and explore the faith in a warm, informative setting.

Orthodox Christian Birth Rituals from Russian Orthodox Church

Venue: Russian Orthodox Church (110Highland Rd, Singapore 549190)
Date: Saturday, 16 August 2025. 10am - 12pm
Admission: $12.50

The Russian Orthodox Church of Singapore is a beautiful and culturally significant place of worship. This tour offers participants an exclusive entry into the church where the congregation gathers for worship.

Look out for the unique interior design, characterised by a combination of Byzantine and Russian styles, where the walls are adorned with vibrant frescoes depicting biblical scenes, saints, and other religious imagery.

These paintings serve to inspire devotion and create a sense of holiness within the space. The colours used are typically rich and symbolic, with gold accents and intricate details. Another attraction is the extension use of iconostasis, a wall of icons that separates the sanctuary from the rest of the church. 

The iconostasis is an important element in Russian Orthodox churches and plays a significant role in worship. It usually consists of multiple tiers of icons, depicting various saints, theVirgin Mary, and Christ. The icons are considered windows into the divine and are venerated by the faithful.

Hindu Namakarana and Mudi Irakkuthal (Naming and Shaving of Hair)

Venue: Sri Mariamman Temple (244 SouthBridge Rd, Singapore 058793)
Date: Saturday, 2 August 2025. 10am - 12pm
Admission: $12.50

Join us at Sri Mariamman Temple for a thoughtful and engaging programme that offers deeper insight into Hinduism and the traditions surrounding birth in Hindu culture. The session begins with an Introduction to Hinduism, covering the core beliefs, key practices, and the meaning behind important rituals that shape this ancient faith.

We’ll then explore Hindu birth rituals, including the worship of Sri Periyachi Amman, a protective deity associated with safeguarding mothers and newborns. You’ll also learn about key ceremonies such as the Thottil Ceremony, a baby's cradle ceremony, and Mudi Irakkuthal, the traditional head-shaving ritual symbolising the shedding of past karma and the start of a new phase in life.

The programme concludes with a guided tour of Sri Mariamman Temple,Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple. This tour offers an opportunity to appreciate the temple's architecture, symbolic design, and the role it plays in community and spiritual life. Whether you're exploring Hinduism for the first time or deepening your understanding, this session offers a respectful and enriching introduction to its cultural and spiritual traditions.

Sunat Lelaki (Circumcision) From Al-Falah Mosque and TAF Clinic

Venue: Masjid Al-Falah (22 Bideford Road,#01-01, Singapore 229923)
Date: Sunday, 10 August 2025. 10am - 12pm
Admission: $12.50

Male circumcision—sunat lelaki—is a significant rite of passage in many Muslim communities, marking not just a physical procedure but a meaningful step in a child's journey of faith and identity. In this thoughtful and informative session, participants will hear from both religious and medical experts who will unpack the layered meanings, evolving practices, and practical considerations surrounding sunat lelaki in Singapore today.

The session opens with Ustaz Faritz from Al-Falah Mosque, who will share the religious foundations of circumcision in Islam. He will explore why circumcision is encouraged for Muslim boys, its role in religious hygiene, and how the practice is tied to notions of purification, responsibility, and spiritual development.

Ustaz Faritz will also speak to how families can prepare children emotionally and spiritually for this important step, and how the ceremony is sometimes marked within the community. Next, Dr Taufiq from TAF Clinic will offer a comprehensive medical overview of the circumcision process. He will explain the modern clinical procedures used today, including what parents can expect before, during, and after the operation.

Dr Taufiq will also discuss the benefits and risks, healing process, pain management, and common concerns families may have. In a fascinating look at how the practice has changed over time, Dr Taufiq will also delve into traditional methods of circumcision once practiced in Singapore—such as home-based procedures by community circumcisers—and how they compare to clinical approaches today. 

This segment offers a rare opportunity to explore how culture, medicine, and religion intersect in a practice that continues to evolve across generations.

My Births & Rebirths

Birth is a joyous occasion, but for some, a new beginning is a testament to personal strength and determination, and a marker of the long journey ahead. The public can get a rare chance to visit and speak to those who are going through their own journeys of recovery: from recovering patients at WE CARE, a community addiction recovery centre, to ex-offenders at PERTAPIS Halfway House, whose journey reintegrating into society is hard-won.

Meet My Craftsman

From ensuring that mothers feel comfortable and recuperate well after labour, to capturing the fleeting, beautiful moments of a newborn’s first steps, sit down with the men and women who have made these intricate crafts and practices their lifelong dedication, and try your hand at them.

From supporting new mothers along their recovery process through the traditional art of belly binding, to choosing the right name for a baby with a Baby Name Consultant, giving them a name that sets them on the path towards a life of success.

After Hours @ My Community

Join an early morning visit to the market to uncover extraordinary stories of how your breakfast favourites come to be, and how the produce arrives fresh at our ports, ready to be sent to markets and kitchens around the island. Explore the sights and sounds of Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, Jurong Fishery Port, and iconic markets like Geylang Serai, Tekka, and Chinatown Complex.

MY–SG

Singapore and Malaysia are closely-knit neighbours-beyond sharing culture and history, there are a host of essential, everyday connections between the two countries: from fresh produce and fruits to the components that make up our apartments and buildings.

Tickets for the events will be available for purchase from 15 July 2025! Check out more information at https://mycommunityfestival.sg/.