Triple celebration for S'pore's cuddliest celebrities

Triple celebration for S'pore's cuddliest celebrities

SINGAPORE - What is the perfect birthday present for a panda?

If you are Kai Kai or Jia Jia, it seems the answer is a big party.

Singapore's River Safari is planning a triple celebration for its two biggest celebrities - complete with a photography contest and furry mascots stationed at malls.

The giant pandas both have birthdays coming up next month and will soon mark the end of their first year in Singapore.

Female Jia Jia will turn five on Sept 3, while Kai Kai, the male panda, will have his sixth birthday 11 days later.

To celebrate, River Safari has lined up a slew of activities. Guests can be transformed into a panda by face painters or given a free guided tour of the enclosure.

They will get a free slice of panda birthday cake with every set meal from Mama Panda Kitchen. And the restaurant will be whipping out panda-themed bites including chocolate custard buns, cookies and cupcakes.

Kai Kai and Jia Jia - which arrived from China on Sept 6 last year - even get their own party planners. Ten members of the public will go behind the scenes to learn about panda care, visit the park's bamboo nursery and help keepers prepare the birthday cake. They will also learn how to make toys to help keep the animals mentally and physically stimulated.

Panda mascots will make 20-minute appearances at JCube, Plaza Singapura, Lot One Shoppers' Mall and Tampines Mall. There, they will dish out birthday treats, including a chance to enter a photo contest that could land participants tickets to the panda party.

The celebrations run from Sept 7 to 15. Visit www.capitaland. com/inside or www.mypaper.sg to find out more about the party planner contest.


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