Less is more for this year's National Day Parade (NDP) funpack, one of the lightest in parade history.
Even though it weighs a compact 1.5kg - instead of around 2kg, like those in past years - it packs a punch, carrying all the goodies paradegoers will need for an unforgettable experience.
There are the interactive items, such as a mini Singapore flag, which will do double duty as a flashing LED light, and a handy paper banner that serves as a fan as well as a clapper.
Each bag also features a commemorative NS50 keychain to mark 50 years of national service, a luggage tag, visor, poncho, bottles of water, tissues and snacks. There is also a detachable pouch that can be swopped with another spectator's for a different colour.
And, of course, there are the perennial crowd favourites such as discount coupons and temporary tattoos.
The organisers said the bags were made lighter to make it easier for smartphone-toting paradegoers to snap photos during the parade, without having to juggle too many items.
Said NDP logistics and finance committee deputy chairman Ang Kian Hoe, 37: "We realised that in previous years, there were a lot of interactive items.
"Now, for example, spectators can carry an LED flag in one hand and a camera phone in the other. This will make for a more convenient and immersive NDP experience."
The water-resistant funpacks, which come in red and white, are made from polyester satin.
Their final funpack designs were whittled down from a total of 60 submitted by Lasalle College of the Arts students.
A total of 150,000 bags, to be collected at distribution points, are being packed from mid-June to August for six shows.
Lasalle College of the Arts graduate Riche Tay, 22, who spent about a month creating the winning bag design, said: "We wanted to make the bags trendy... and more compact and user-friendly."
Noting that a compact funpack makes sense at NDP venues that can get crowded, Mr Tay said the bags were designed with a roll-up top so that paradegoers can adjust the carrying capacity.
Said his co-designer, coursemate Denise Richter, 23: "We wanted to create a bag that people would still use... after National Day."
