Things to Do in Singapore: Lunar New Year, Art Festivals, and Pokemon on the Cable Car

Welcome to Things to do in Singapore with me, your globe-trotting sports nut Oly Bennett, broadcasting from the Little Red Dot where the humidity is high, the air-con is colder than a goalkeeper’s stare, and the city is buzzing with art, lights, and CNY energy as we roll through January 2026.

Out on the streets, Chinatown is already warming up for the Year of the Horse with lanterns and horse-themed displays lighting up New Bridge Road and Eu Tong Sen Street, as GetGo’s CNY 2026 guide notes, turning evening strolls into full-on festive photo ops. Over at the Civic District, National Gallery Singapore’s Light to Night 2026 festival is in full swing across four weekends, transforming the area with interactive art, facade projections, and performances under the theme “The Power in Us,” according to National Gallery Singapore and Little Day Out. The Singapore Biennale is also running islandwide till March, with more than 80 artists taking over everyday spaces, from malls to green corridors, as highlighted by SAFRA’s “What’s Happening Around Singapore.”

For families and fun-seekers, Mount Faber Leisure’s Pokémon Day-to-Night Adventure on the Singapore Cable Car is flying high till April, with Pikachu-filled cabins by day and UV-lit, hidden flying-type Pokémon to spot at night, as SAFRA reports. Literature lovers can head to The Arts House for VERSE 2026, a free, multi-sensory dive into Singapore literature with installations and performances running 9 to 31 January, described by Arts House Group and Bakchormeeboy. And if you’re a night owl, Clarke Quay and the Civic District will be especially lively during Light to Night evenings, with Art X Social bringing food, live music, and festival vibes, according to National Gallery Singapore and SAFRA.

On the news-and-updates front, the city is leaning hard into arts season: ART SG is gearing up at Marina Bay Sands later this month with over 100 galleries and a new performance art sector, as ART SG and SAFRA outline, cementing Singapore’s status as a regional art hub. Chinese New Year prep means mall promos, festive markets at Jewel Changi, and special CNY themes at attractions like Wild Wild Wet and Downtown East, according to GetGo. Public transport is running at full strength to key hotspots like Marina Bay, Bras Basah, and Chinatown, and during festival evenings you can expect extended operating hours and crowd management around the Civic District based on typical Light to Night arrangements in past editions.

If you’re planning your day, here’s your must-do game plan: hit Gardens by the Bay in the late afternoon for cooler weather and, if you can, catch the “Spring Blossoms” CNY floral display in the Flower Dome highlighted by Gardens by the Bay and GetGo. Glide into sunset on the Singapore Cable Car’s Pokémon adventure for skyline views with a side of geeky joy. Once it’s dark, walk the Civic District: start at National Gallery Singapore for Light to Night installations, then wander toward the Padang and Victoria Concert Hall to soak in projections and performances. Want a quieter gem? Check out ArtWalk@Wessex on its open weekends this month to visit artists’ studios in a leafy colonial estate, as SAFRA describes.

Local tip: when big festivals like Light to Night are on, skip one-stop MRT hops. The Civic District is easily walkable between City Hall, Clarke Quay, Raffles Place, and Esplanade stations. Plan a simple walking loop, and you’ll see way more with less time stuck in station crowds. And if you’re chasing food after late-night art, hawker centres like Lau Pa Sat and Makansutra-style spots around Marina Bay usually have stalls open late, so you can refuel like a true Singaporean—by eating after you’ve already eaten.

Tomorrow, expect the arts-and-festivals engine to keep roaring: Light to Night, the Biennale, VERSE 2026, and all those CNY build-up activities are only getting hotter. I’ll be back to scout more quirky happenings, from cable-car Pokémon spotting to maybe, just maybe, a Renaissance Faire at Fort Canning later this month.

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