Dear young friends,

Octoburst!, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay’s annual Children’s Day festival, is back. This year, we will be on the move and going out to preschools, primary schools and even your homes instead to celebrate this special occasion, as the arts centre will be surrounded by the F1 race track on the day itself. We’ve got crafts and artful adventures for you and we hope you will discover new ways to play and create with art, wherever you are.

From October to December 2025*, you are all invited to visit PIP’s PLAYbox at Esplanade to explore a giant ocean world filled with imaginative sea creatures handmade by selected preschoolers from across Singapore. Look out for turtles, jellyfish and other sea friends, created with recycled materials in craft packs designed by eco-artist Didier Ng for the Our Friends in the Sea art project. While you’re here, you can add on to the display by making your very own “octopus” in our Craft Your Own Octopus activity!

For our primary school friends, we’re sending fun into some of your classrooms. Our Children’s Day Celebration Kit, created together with our friends at Peculiar Matters, is filled with silly storytelling games and crafty puppet-making activities. With a little dash of imagination, even the classroom can turn into a stage for laughter, creativity and play. 

Now for the highlight—we’d like to invite all of you to be young arts explorers by joining PIP’s Arts Adventure! Pick up a copy of our activity sheet at Esplanade or get it online before you set off on a creative path of your choice, whether in music, theatre, dance or visual arts. Complete a path and you’ll earn a limited-edition enamel pin to celebrate your adventure. Go ahead to explore different paths and collect as many pins as you can!

Above all, we hope that Octoburst! brings you joy and helps create magical memories with the people you love.

Germaine Tay  

Programmer, The Esplanade Co Ltd

*Except from 1 – 7 Oct when the centre is closed to the public for the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2025. Details on closure will be announced closer to date.