Friday 13 November opens a busy weekend. Children’s Museum Singapore opens Money Town on Saturday, three defence museums go free for the Defence Collective Festival, dragon boats race on Kallang Basin, and Esplanade’s Muara Festival puts three free nights of Malay dance on the bay. Jisoo’s Click pop-up opens at Marina Bay Sands on Friday, and the Great Christmas Village at Ngee Ann City opens the same afternoon, four days ahead of Orchard Road’s light-up on 17 November.
Free and outdoors
- Muara Festival Main Showcase: three nights of dance from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia at the DBS Foundation Outdoor Theatre, Esplanade, 1 Esplanade Drive, with two sets each night at 7.30pm and 9.15pm, Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November. Each set runs 1 hour 15 minutes. Friday is Muara Bergema, with invited Indonesian and Malaysian groups alongside Era Dance Theatre; Saturday is Zapin D’Muara, an all-zapin night tied to Singapore’s bid for UNESCO recognition of the form; Sunday is Martabat Budaya. Live musicians accompany the dancers this year, for the first time since 2022. Free, no tickets. Esplanade
- Borealis: Dan Acher’s Northern Lights installation over the Supertree Grove, Gardens by the Bay, 18 Marina Gardens Drive, on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November from 8pm to 8.30pm. Free. The show is cancelled if it rains at show time. Gardens by the Bay
- Movies by the Beach: free outdoor films at Palawan Kidz City Roof Garden, Level 3, near Beach Station on Sentosa. Saturday 14 November has Alatau: Following the Vanishing Glaciers at 6pm and War for the Planet of the Apes at 7.30pm. Sunday 15 November has four short nature films from 6pm, including The Hornbill Promise, then Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes at 7.30pm. Free, with no booking needed, and screenings are cancelled in bad weather. Sentosa
Families and kids
- Money Town: Make It Count!: Children’s Museum Singapore, 23-B Coleman Street, opens its new money exhibition on Saturday 14 November. It is built for ages five to nine, with a Heritage Quarter where children barter and pan for gold, a Downtown zone with a supermarket budgeting game, and Money Barn for children aged 48 months and below. The museum is closed on Friday 13 November. Opening weekend adds a free drop-in WonderBot’s Rainbow Market, free storytelling sessions with sign language interpretation, and a ticketed parent-child sugee cookie workshop. Entry is free for Singapore citizens and PRs. Visits run in timed sessions from 9am, 11am, 2pm and 4pm, advance booking is strongly encouraged and walk-ins depend on availability. On Sunday 15 November the 9am session is closed, and visits start from 11am. Children’s Museum Singapore
- Defence Collective Festival: Singapore Discovery Centre, Singapore Navy Museum and Singapore Air Force Museum, Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November, 10am to 6pm. Museum entry and most activities are free with registration for each museum, and a S$10 Exclusive Passport adds drone flying, gel blaster battles, a stamp booklet and a tote bag. Defence Collective Singapore
- Zoolympix: Stars of Mandai: 10 animal-inspired challenges at Zoolympix Village, Mandai Wildlife East Lawn, daily 10am to 7pm until 3 January 2027, with a medal for a full stamp card. Village tickets are S$20, and members get S$8 entry on the Members’ Wild Weekend of 14 and 15 November. Mandai
- The Great Christmas Village: the Kiztopia Christmas village at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza opens on Friday 13 November, daily 3pm to 10pm until 3 January 2027, with a Marvel Avengers Christmas tree, carnival games and snowfall shows at the Hitachi Santa House at 8pm and 9pm. Weekend live performances start at 7.15pm, 8.15pm and 9.15pm. Entry is free, and the games run on a paid carnival card. A second village opens at Shaw House Urban Plaza on 20 November. Our Christmas markets guide has the card prices. Orchard Road Business Association
- Tanglin Mall Holiday Express: Tanglin Mall’s outdoor carnival with Santa’s Express train rides and fairground games opens on Friday 13 November, and its free nightly snowfall starts on Saturday 14 November at 7.30pm, with an extra 8.30pm session on weekends. Five carnival tokens come with S$50 in same-day receipts, while stocks last. The mall’s weekend Christmas markets also start this weekend. 163 Tanglin Road. Tanglin Mall
- No Strings Attached International Puppetry Festival: Paper Monkey Theatre’s festival brings puppeteers from Indonesia, Thailand, Korea and Iran to The Artground’s White Box at Goodman Arts Centre, Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November. Each show runs 45 minutes in English, for ages three and up. Tickets are S$20 a show, S$35 for a two-show session or S$60 for all four in a day. Paper Monkey Theatre
- Objectifs Junior Festival: photography and filmmaking workshops for ages six to 14 at Objectifs, 155 Middle Road, on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November, 10.30am to 5pm, with a second weekend from 20 to 22 November. The workshops are ticketed, and there are free drop-in art activities and a Children’s Market. Objectifs
- Early READ Fiesta: NLB’s reading fair for children up to six opens its tour at Woodlands Library on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November, 10am to 5pm, with activity stations and a gift for finishing the trail. National Library Board
- Snoopy Pop-up Library: NLB’s Peanuts-themed library at Plaza Singapura, Level 3, 68 Orchard Road, daily 10am to 10pm until 19 September 2027. Free. Plaza Singapura
Markets, shopping and pop-ups
- Jisoo: Click in Singapore: Blackpink member Jisoo’s circus-themed pop-up store opens at the Digital Light Canvas, Level B2, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue, from Friday 13 to 29 November. It opens 11.30am to 9.30pm on Friday and 10.30am to 9.30pm daily from Saturday. Entry is by reserved slot only, booked through Klook from 10am on Thursday 12 November, with no walk-ins. The organiser, CK Star Entertainment, says it is also the first place in the world to sell her Poppop popcorn.
- The Christmas Atelier: 130 artisanal brands at Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, Hall C, Level 1, with Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November as its last two days, 11am to 9pm. Ticketed. The Christmas Atelier
- The Tech Show 2026: 350-plus brands across Levels 3 and 4 of Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November. Level 3 opens at 11am and Level 4 at noon, and both close at 9pm. Free entry, with Wow Deals from S$5 listed in the free online Show Guide. The Tech Show
Arts, gigs and nightlife
- Isaiyin Raaja: Ilaiyaraaja Live in Concert: the composer marks 50 years of film music at Singapore Indoor Stadium, 2 Stadium Walk, on Saturday 14 November, with doors at 5.30pm and the concert at 7pm. Singers include Gangai Amaran, Shweta Mohan, SPB Charan and Haricharan. Tickets run from S$78 to S$998 before SISTIC’s booking fee, and children under three are not admitted. The Kallang
- Jeremy Monteiro: 50 Years of Jazz: the Singapore pianist marks five decades since he began his professional career in 1976 at Esplanade Concert Hall on Saturday 14 November at 7.30pm, with French trumpeter Nicolas Folmer, Hong Kong guitarist Eugene Pao, saxophonist Sean Hong Wei and vocalist Maya Raisha. The concert runs 2 hours 10 minutes with a 20-minute interval, and admission is for ages six and up. Tickets from S$38. Esplanade
- Sumi Jo: Mad For Love: the Korean soprano’s 40th anniversary recital at Esplanade Concert Hall on Sunday 15 November at 7.30pm, with pianist Abigail Sin. It runs 1 hour 45 minutes with a 20-minute interval, admission is for ages seven and up, and tickets start from S$68. Esplanade
- Fate of a Cockroach: Intercultural Theatre Institute’s graduating actors in Tawfiq al-Hakim’s satire at the Esplanade Theatre Studio, with shows on Friday 13 November at 8pm and Saturday 14 November at 3pm and 8pm before the run ends. Standard tickets are S$27. Esplanade
- CATS: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical at the Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands, plays its second-last weekend before closing on 22 November, with shows on Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm, and Sunday at 1pm and 6.30pm. Tickets from S$68. It is recommended for ages seven and up, and children under four are not admitted. Marina Bay Sands
- Haw Ror Villa 5! Back From the Dead: Hell’s Museum’s four-zone scare event at Haw Par Villa, 262 Pasir Panjang Road, plays its final nights on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November, from 6.30pm to midnight. A full visit takes 2 to 2.5 hours, and it runs rain or shine. Haw Ror Villa
- Something Strange Festival: billed as Singapore’s first festival of horror, folklore and the unexplained, it takes over Cineleisure, 8 Grange Road, from Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November. The Festival Village, Main Stage talks and The Curiosity Market are free. Films in the SSF Horror-thon at Golden Village Cineleisure are S$22 each, and the after-dark Haunted Backrooms Experience is S$20.70. Something Strange Festival
- Singapore Writers Festival: the 29th edition opens on Friday 13 November and runs to 22 November, with more than 200 programmes on the theme Hidden in Plain Sight, a new Crime and Mystery Spotlight, and writers including Amitav Ghosh, Tan Twan Eng and Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Stephen Witt gives the opening keynote at 7.30pm on Friday, and Amitav Ghosh’s keynote follows on Saturday 14 November at the Victoria Theatre. Keynotes are ticketed separately from the Festival Pass. Singapore Writers Festival
Exhibitions and trails
- Let’s Imagine the World Together: Art in Southeast Asia: a family-friendly show in the City Hall Wing Level 4 Gallery, National Gallery Singapore, 1 St Andrew’s Road, with works by Raden Saleh, Juan Luna and Liu Kang and an Imagination Bag of prompts for children. Daily 10am to 7pm, until 26 September 2027. Free for Singaporeans and PRs with General Admission. National Gallery Singapore
- Exceptional/Everyday: New Acquisitions, New Perspectives: Peranakan Museum, 39 Armenian Street, until 29 August 2027. S$6 for Singaporeans and PRs, S$18 for foreign residents and tourists, with an activity trail booklet for ages seven and up. Peranakan Museum
- ONE Ocean: Every Action Ripples: an ocean exhibition with free-roaming VR at the Annexe Halls, Science Centre Singapore, 15 Science Centre Road, Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm, last admission 4.15pm. Tickets from S$10, recommended for ages five and up. Science Centre Singapore
- New Everyday Life, By Design: DesignSingapore Council’s free design trail opens on Saturday 14 November across 17 North East Line stations, with hubs at Dhoby Ghaut and Punggol Coast, until 6 December. Sony’s programmes sit at Plaza Singapura, Temasek Shophouse and Punggol Coast Mall. DesignSingapore Council
Sports and active
- Singapore Regatta Waterfest: 200m dragon boat sprints on Kallang Basin on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November, from the Water Sports Centre at The Kallang. The waterfront festival starts a day earlier, with inflatable human foosball from 4pm to 8pm on Friday 13 November and 10am to 6pm on the weekend, and the Neon Night Paddle goes out on Saturday from 6pm to 9pm, at S$45 for ages 12 and up. The Kallang
- SwimTogether Singapore: the inclusive swim that pairs persons with disabilities with the wider community holds its last 2026 session at Jurong West Swimming Complex on Saturday 14 November, 9am to 1pm. Free, walk-ins accepted, ages five and above, with under-14s accompanied by an adult. Singapore Disability Sports Council
