This National Day weekend, from 8–11 August, the East side of Singapore is about to get a powerful jolt of heritage and heart with Kampung Elektrik — the country’s first cultural arts festival dedicated to the vibrant soul of Katong and Joo Chiat.
Forget sterile parades and cookie-cutter carnivals. Kampung Elektrik, curated by The Retro Factory and co-presented with creative studio Rawspark, invites you to step into a living, breathing kampung — one where neon lights meet secondhand treasures, Peranakan bakes, typewriters, and the timeless clatter of chapteh.
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It’s a festival where ondeh-ondeh melts on your tongue, Ayam Buah Keluak secrets are passed down by someone’s grandmother, and strangers become neighbours through communal crafts, music jams, and wild street games. Even the humble flag eraser gets a 2025 remix in the playful Hantam Hustle arena.
As Singapore marks 60 years of independence, Kampung Elektrik offers a different kind of celebration — a tribute not to polished nostalgia, but to the everyday magic still thriving in Katong’s vinyl shops, spice stalls, and kopitiams. “This isn’t about brands or big stages," says Gary Tan, founder of The Retro Factory. "It’s about the stallholders, the artisans, and the quiet magic they bring to the everyday.”
Festival Director Caspar Francis sums it up best: “This is a love letter to the soul of Katong. We’re not just remembering where we came from — we’re recharging it for the next generation.”
Visit kampungelektrik.com or follow their Instagram for full line-ups, secret gigs, vendor reveals and all the neon-soaked nostalgia.
