Family-friendly Halloween event to return to Mandai at River Safari

SINGAPORE - Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) is back with a Halloween event for the first time in three years.

The organisation, which manages attractions like the Singapore Zoo and Jurong Bird Park, has steered clear of Halloween events since 2011 when it axed its award-winning Halloween Horrors in the Night Safari due to negative feedback about its relevance to conservation and how it was not family-centric enough.

The decision was made about two weeks before the event and after 1,000 tickets had been sold, sparking a public outcry. There were even petitions asking for it to be brought back.

But this new Halloween event, Safari Boo, is markedly different from the old Halloween Horrors event.

It will be held at the River Safari and it is geared towards children 12 years old and under.

Said Ms Isabel Cheng, chief marketing officer for Wildlife Reserves Singapore: "This is for a completely different audience...this event will not illicit any negative feedback. The Halloween Horrors that we organised in the past was clearly for adults. This one is very specially for kids 12 years old."

Safari Boo will be take place over five days, on the Deepavali public holiday, and two weekends in October and November, from 2.30pm to 9pm.

The place will be decorated for Halloween with lit-up jack-o-lanterns hanging on sheltered walkways and signs of cartoon characters along trails.

There will also be roving characters, such as mermaids and unicorns, as well as activities related to conservation such as stations where people can touch the scaly skin of a pangolin to learn more about the endangered animal and presentations where River Safari staff will introduce creatures like snakes and insects to the audience.

This article was first published on Oct 16, 2014.
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