The first ever Dreamworks Day Run in Asia happened on 24 June 2017 at Gardens by the Bay (East), we were honoured to be part of this event. This is because meaningful to us as we love all of their animation characters! DinoBoy fell in love with the dragons from How to Train Your Dragon when he watched the animation years ago and like most kids he has his eyes on Toothless. I have a soft spot for this dragon too and couldn't stop myself from making a Toothless amigurumi or crocheted stuffed toy. Cute to the max can! (Let me know if you want this, its available in my shop *wink wink*)
Ok, so we forgot to bring our Toothless that day... I left it on the shelf and forgot about it, should have put it in my bag when I was preparing the day before... However all's well because when we reached the venue, we were welcomed by a HUGE Toothless cutout, that's enough to give DinoBoy the thrills!
For their first event with carnival, I must say they did quite a good job in providing ample game stalls to entertain every one of all ages. The prizes available for redemption may not be seen as something great but for die hard fans they are worth more than it's value. We did not purchase any carnival tickets so we did not play any games but it was fun to watch others try to hit the target to gain some points.
There were food and drinks stall, an area in the centre screening animations (I think it was Kungfu Panda but I may be wrong coz I wasn't paying much attention to it), I was pleasantly surprised that there was a story telling corner to keep the younger kids entertained.
Now, family run is great time to bond but it is much more fun when you run with your friends! And thank goodness our boys are around the same age, they can entertain each other and race each other on while the Mummies sashay along the way. The boys were long out of our sight minutes after we crossed the starting point but we are not worried as we have given them specific instruction on safety, made DinoBoy in charge of the group because he is the oldest and told them to "Stick together at all times!".
We finally caught up with them at the hydration station over at Marina Barrage, the queue to take cups of chilled mineral water was snaking long! The volunteers were trying to be mad fast to pour the chilled bottled mineral water into plastic cups. Aiyo! So wasteful and time consuming! They should have just handed out chilled bottled drinks. Why? Simply because this is the ONE and ONLY hydration point at around mid point. Every one was thirsty and in need of water, much so when it was a hot and humid later afternoon, every one will at least take 2 cups of water to cool off, imagine, 1 person 2 plastic cups... how many plastic cups were thrown away with just one use? Tsk tsk tsk!
Truth to be told, that day's weather was too hot, too humid and the Sun is too bright! There wasn't any breeze or wind for most part of the route, we were walking and was perspiring like mad! Some of the participants were running and I could see that their tee shirt was soaked with perspire. I wasn't ready to be in their shoes; no pun intended, and was so glad that fellow Mummy Serene and Mummy Edlyn felt the same! So what did we do? Like many others, we took loads of welfie, selfies and the beautiful scenery along the bay. Who could resiste capturing the mesmerising view of our iconic Singapore Flyer, CBD, the domes & Supergrove over at Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands?
We had a treat that day too! There was a NDP 2017 rehersal on that day and we saw the jets and chinooks, possible the ones that will fly pass with our nation's flag on that day. We also saw 2 navy vessels in water too! There were even fireworks but my fingers are too slow to capture them on my phone.
And probably an hour plus later we finally reached the finished line, of course the boys reached much earlier than us. Don't worry, we are not mean Mums who left our boys to fend for themselves, Xav's daddy was with them while waiting for the 3 mummies.
Each of us received a beautiful medal and a cap for finishing the walk *ahem* run. Though I have a few things that I hope the organizer to improve (see below) I sincerely think that the goodies they gave was one of the best. Apart from the snacks, drinks & vouchers in the goodie bag, they gave canvas tote bag with Dreamworks Day printed in front, I have been using it when I go out during the weekend. It's good and sturdy and sometimes I use it to put my groceries after a trip to the supermarket.
Instead of the usual light weight ones made from nylon, Lycra or whatever, Dreamworks Day tee was made of cotton which I like as they are so much cooler and comfortable for me when running during the event. Frankly I can't wear those light weight tees after the event coz they are too warm to wear at home plus they stuck to me when I perspire. The Dreamwork Day tee has no such issues and I love it to bits!
Each of us received a beautiful medal and a cap for finishing the walk *ahem* run. Though I have a few things that I hope the organizer to improve (see below) I sincerely think that the goodies they gave was one of the best. Apart from the snacks, drinks & vouchers in the goodie bag, they gave canvas tote bag with Dreamworks Day printed in front, I have been using it when I go out during the weekend. It's good and sturdy and sometimes I use it to put my groceries after a trip to the supermarket.
Instead of the usual light weight ones made from nylon, Lycra or whatever, Dreamworks Day tee was made of cotton which I like as they are so much cooler and comfortable for me when running during the event. Frankly I can't wear those light weight tees after the event coz they are too warm to wear at home plus they stuck to me when I perspire. The Dreamwork Day tee has no such issues and I love it to bits!
Suggestions on Improvements
1. Gardens by the Bay East is a favourite spot for both cyclists and runners who shares the same pathway, add in the Dreamworks Day participants and it can get a little bit crowded. Incidentally at some point the same pathway is used by Dreamworks Day participants to run back towards the starting point, so it was really a scenario of fighting for place to run and cycle by all 3 parties. There were no volunteers to help ease the traffic nor to guide the participants, it was a little pretty chaotic sight.
Perhaps a fence in the middle of the path to separate participants from each direction, this will ensure smooth flow of traffic too.
Place more volunteers along the route, they not only can guide the participants, they can cheer them on too! Plus in case of emergency; like participants feeling unwell and needed medical attention, they can approach them to seek help.
2. Its a 5km run with kids of all ages, it was a typical Singapore weather, hot and humid and there was only one hydration station at about half a mark point. No doubt some will bring their water but with such weather water will probably be finished in no time. Every one was scampering to get water at the station, some hogged at the table because they wanted more than 1 cup either for themselves or for their family members. It was a messy sight with long snaking queue and the poor volunteers working as fast as their hands could, spilling water due to the hastiness, such a shame to see such wastage.
How about putting up another hydration station to save us from dying of thirst (hahah!) and easing up the queue? And running or even walking in the outdoor will make us perspire, we need to hydrate to prevent us from getting a heat stroke.
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This is apart from the Dreamworks Day event.
Gardens by the Bay East is located at a "secluded" area that is accessible either by car, public transport or bicycle/motorbike. During such events, if you don't drive it is a mad long wait to get onto the shuttle service or takes a long time to get a cab via online or phone. And after a tiring run you really want to get out of the place FAST! Bear in mind that all the malls are at least a good 20mins walk from there, so plan your exit way, have a good rest after the run so that you will have energy to walk and that you won't suffer a muscle cramp while walking.
We choose to head off to SportsHub, by the time we reached we were officially dead tired and famished! And since most of the participants came here too either to head home or for dinner, you can imagine the crowd and the long queues outside all the restaurants! By a strike of luck, we managed to get a table for us 15mins later at Old Street Bak Kut Teh where we tucked into delicious braised pork noodles, scrumptious Bak Kut Teh, braised pork knuckles etc. Needless to say, every one enjoyed the dinner and are belly-happy!
While walking towards the taxi stand DinoBoy saw the beautiful night scene outside and wanted to take a look. We took in the gorgeous night skyline, breath in the salty breeze and felt so relaxed, it was such a calming view~ Don't you agree? And with that image in our mind, we hopped onto the cab and headed home, the boy snoozing in the comfort of the cab with the cooling air con.
Disclaimer : We were invited to take part in Dreamworks Day 2017 for the purpose of this post, no other compensation were received. All photos in this post belongs to The DinoFamily, you may not use them for personal purpose without our permission. All opinions in this post are 100% ours and based on our personal experience at the event.
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