The best things to do in Singapore this week (June 16-22)

The Japan Summer Festival at One Punggol is where you can experience Japan in a nutshell, and enjoy live performances including the thunderous rhythms of Taiko drumming, traditional folk dances, J-pop acts and colourful cosplay displays. There are game booths where you can try your hand at classic Japanese festival games, a curated flea market featuring Japanese crafts and quirky knick-knacks, and a spread of authentic Japanese street eats and seasonal delights to try.

To celebrate World Cucumber Day, Hendrick’s Great Cucumber Exchange is back from June 16 to 19 to help you stay cool with a free cocktail. The catch? Simply sign up here and bring a cucumber to any participating restaurants and bars to redeem a choice between two drinks: Hendrick’s Flora Adora & Tonic and Hendrick’s Grand Cabaret & Tonic. No cucumber? No problem. You can still join in the fun by approaching Hendrick's Cucumber Town Council, who will be giving out spare cucumbers around the CBD during lunchtime. Find out more here. 

K-pop artist Kai will be bringing his first solo concert tour to Singapore for a one-night-only performance. He originally debuted in 2012 as a member of the boy group EXO, and began his solo career in 2020 with the release of his self-titled track Kai. Tickets can be purchased here. 

Enjoy the beauty of nature at the Sentosa Sunset Watch Party. Held at Palawan Beach, this free event invites sunset enthusiasts to admire the golden hues as the sun sets over the horizon. Visitors can also take part in wellness activities, and there will also be a sunset-themed photo exhibition and free photo printouts for guests.

The event runs every Friday and Saturday from 6pm to 8pm. 

Singapore’s largest card show is returning for another weekend edition. The event is expected to feature around 150 vendors offering trading card games, sports cards, collectible figurines and more. Admission is free for all visitors. However, those keen to get a head start can opt for the Early Access VIP Pass. More details can be found here.  

What if we told you that you could walk among dinosaurs – all without a time machine? After touring the world in cities like Berlin and Toronto, the immersive dinosaur-themed exhibition Jurassic World: The Experience is roaring its way into Singapore and taking over Gardens by the Bay’s Cloud Forest with life-like dinosaur animatronics and interactive snippets throughout. We’re talking towering 8.5-metre-tall Brachiosaurus, a thrashing Tyrannosaurus Rex, and a petting zoo where you can interact with adorable baby dinosaurs.

Alliance Française de Singapour presents Ocean: Diving into the Unknown from now to August 30, 2025, showcasing the transformative journey beneath the sea’s surface. The exhibition explores France’s historical and scientific connections to the marine world, aiming to deepen awareness of the oceans’ fragile ecosystems and humanity’s collective responsibility for their protection. More details can be found here.

Emerging theatre collective The Winter Players returns from June 12 to 22, 2025 at the SOTA Studio Theatre with a reimagined production of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. This beloved comedy is set in 1960s post-independence Singapore and features themes like love, conflict, and deception. Tickets are priced at $35 and can be purchased here.

Standard Bun, known for its fluffy dessert buns, is holding its first pop-up in Singapore at two locations: Suntec City and Bugis Junction. Expect to find over 25 flavours of dessert buns and the bakery’s famed house-aged maple butter ($2.90). Sounds delicious? Simply head down to Suntec City from June 4 to August 3, or Bugis Junction from June 10 to July 14.

If you missed the previous Wiggle Wiggle pop-up at Plaza Singapura, here’s your second chance to dive back into its colourful world. The South Korean lifestyle brand has teamed up with the Singapore Flyer from now till September 28, 2025, transforming five capsules with vibrant retro colours and Wiggle Wiggle’s signature motifs – think whimsical flowers and cute bears. Don’t forget to stop by the pop-up store at Level 1 to snag merchandise like stationery, accessories and apparel. More details can be found here.

Pop Air – Art is Inflatable by The Balloon Museum is set to blow us away, transforming Marina Bay Sands into a playground of giant inflatables, trippy lights, and interactive installations from June 7 to August 31, 2025. Hailing all the way from Rome, this immersive exhibition is packed with jaw-dropping installations, from towering inflatables that fill the space to delicate sculptures that redefine what air can do. Expect interactive and digital pieces that blur the lines between reality and imagination, proving that inflatable art is anything but full of hot air. Tickets are now available for purchase here.

For those who are curious about the world around them, this year’s Children’s Season transforms five iconic venues in the Civic District – The Arts House at The Old Parliament, Asian Civilisations Museum, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, National Gallery Singapore, and Victoria Theatre & Victoria Concert Hall – into one giant playground of discovery. Take them on the self-guided Little Explorer’s Trail, where families can roam and uncover everything from ancient artefacts to musical wonders at each stop. Collect a stamp while you’re there and redeem an exclusive sticker sheet when you visit at least three venues. With both free and ticketed activities – and plenty of places to cool down – it’s a great day out for curious kids and culture-loving parents alike.

Sweet dreams are made of this. Chill out and churn up at the Museum of Ice Cream’s popular ice cream-making workshops, back this June by mouth-watering demand. Little chefs will be able to whip up their very own frozen concoctions – think minty-fresh, chocolatey-rich, or strawberry-sweet – complete with toppings galore. Each 45-minute session ends with a Scoop Master certificate, all-day access to the museum’s pastel wonderland, and of course, sweet treats. It’s a deliciously cool way to blend learning and play – and yes, grown-ups can get in on the action too. 

Ready, set, bounce! Suntec City’s Bouncy Escapade is every child’s dream come true – a mega inflatable playground (Jumptopia Lite: Bounce Beyond!) where they can jump, slide, and tumble their way through three candy-themed obstacle courses. Featuring Kiztopia’s beloved characters, it’s a high-energy zone complete with 6.5-metre slides, colourful ball pits, and winding tunnels. There are also plenty of reward-worthy shopping perks for parents like carpark savings, free event tickets, and Suntec City e-vouchers with qualifying spend. Don’t forget to grab exclusive merch and make it a full day of squeals and squeaky sneakers. Perfect for when your kids have energy to burn and the couch just won’t cut it.

i Light Singapore returns from May 29 to June 21, 2025, illuminating the city with 17 sustainable light installations by 20 local and international artists. Centred around the theme To Gather, the festival expands beyond Marina Bay to include South Beach, the Singapore River, and Raffles Place for the first time. Admission is free, with festival hours from 7.30pm to 11pm daily, and extended to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

GastroBeats 2025 is set to light up the Bayfront Event Space from May 29 to June 22, 2025, offering free live music, street food, and carnival fun. This year's edition introduces a collaboration with Jelilo, with life-sized characters of Captain Skull, One Eye, and Scarface roaming the grounds for photo opportunities. Foodies can indulge in offerings from popular local vendors such as Warabimochi Kamakura, Papi’s Tacos, and more. Music enthusiasts shouldn't miss the new immersive experience, Rewind. Replay. Remix: SG Edition, which takes you through immersive zones spotlighting three generations of music in Singapore.

The Gallery Children's Biennale returns to National Gallery Singapore from May 31, 2025 to March 29, 2026 for its fifth edition, themed Tomorrow We'll Be.... Coinciding with the Gallery’s 10th anniversary and Singapore’s 60th birthday, this year’s event invites visitors to explore the possibilities of their future through the values of joy, kindness, dream and love. Families can look forward to eight immersive and multi-sensory installations by local and international artists, alongside a series of engaging programmes designed to inspire creativity and reflection.

Local creative community GOFY presents Melting Thresholds, a group exhibition spotlighting four emerging Southeast Asian artists – Shu and Money Wang from Malaysia, Nina Sach from Thailand, and Jaeyyelle from Singapore. Running from May 17 to September 14, 2025 at Sweet Cheeks, the show explores dreamlike spaces through a series of quirky artworks that reflect on identity, memory, and transformation. The exhibition also features limited-edition gelato flavours by Sweet Cheeks, and all artworks are available for purchase on-site. 

Step through a vine-covered entrance and into the realm of Wonders of Nature, the New Art Museum Singapore's newest kid-friendly exhibition that highlights the significance of the natural world. Featuring works by eight international artists including Yayoi Kusama and Go Yayanagi, the exhibition unfolds across five sections, each offering interactive artworks and immersive projections that bring the beauty of nature to life through art.

National Gallery Singapore’s latest show highlights the journeys of influential Asian artists like Foujita Tsuguharu, Georgette Chen, and Liu Kang, who brought their unique cultural backgrounds to Paris at the height of its modern art movement. The exhibition uncovers how their personal stories and heritage shaped their work, leaving a lasting mark on Paris’s art scene and influencing the course of modern art. 

Experience the inner workings of the mind like never before in Mirror Mirror: Journey Into the Mind, opening on March 1 at Marina Bay Sands. Created by Moment Factory, this immersive exhibition takes visitors through eight interactive rooms that explore themes such as memory, perception, and ego. Using innovative technology and artistic expression, the exhibit brings the intangible aspects of the human psyche to life in a visually stunning and thought-provoking way.

The stunning Gardens by the Bay is set to get even more magical this festive season. For the first time in Singapore, all your Disney and Pixar favourites are coming to life at the floral wonderland’s new Garden of Wonder showcase. As you stroll through Gardens by the Bay’s Floral Fantasy, you’ll be greeted by eight stunning themed topiaries featuring lovable characters like Winnie the Pooh, Ariel and Flounder from The Little Mermaid, and Mike and Sulley from Monsters, Inc. Get in on the magic here.

Held at Resorts World Sentosa, the Singapore edition of Harry Potter: Visions of Magic promises to be even bigger and better, with an additional 10,000 square feet of space for even more magical moments to unfold. Step into familiar scenes from the Potterverse including the Room of Requirement, Newt’s Menagerie, Ministry of Magic, and more, as special interactive technology and multimedia elements are weaved with captivating soundscapes to bring enchantment to us muggles. With realistic replicas of what you see in the movies, along with eye-catching illuminations, there are sure to be a ton of photo-worthy opportunities. Find out more here.

Batik, a timeless art form and symbol of Southeast Asian heritage, takes centre stage at the Peranakan Museum. This captivating exhibition shines a spotlight on the creative and entrepreneurial journeys of three remarkable Peranakan women from the bustling port city of Pekalongan, Indonesia. Meet Nyonya Oeij Soen King, her daughter-in-law Nyonya Oeij Kok Sing, and granddaughter Jane Hendromartono, each a batik master in her own right. Discover their inspiring stories through about 200 objects, including cherished family heirlooms and 60 stunning batik pieces from the 1890s to the 1980s. You can also explore batik’s evolution through time at the interactive stations. Then take a fun mobile quiz to uncover your personal batik style and score an exclusive bookmark to take home. Keep an eye out for exciting pop-up performances, hands-on craft activities, and engaging curator tours during your visit.