SINGAPORE - The stars were on show at the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station on Saturday (June 11) night - and not just those in the sky.
More than 2,000 people were treated to an outdoor screening of Singapore-made films Mr Unbelievable and Long Long Time Ago 1 at an event organised by the People's Association (PA) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA).
Director of the latter Jack Neo, who was there for a meet-and-greet session, said: "It's great that this movie can be screened at this heritage site.
"I hope that through the movie, residents will learn more about the kampung spirit of the 60s and 70s, as well as learn to treasure the social stability and community bonds that we enjoy today."
Tanjong Pagar resident Tham Lai Kuan, 60, a clerk, walked over from her flat with several neighbours to relive the open-air cinema experience of her youth.
"I used to go with my father to Great World City to watch dialect movies in the open in the 1950s and 1960s for a few cents," she said.
"It is my first time back in the station since it was closed in 2011."
The movies were shown on a large LED screen fixed to the PA's 'Be My Kaki' bus.
The PA currently has two such buses which have entertained more than 22,000 residents in more than 60 locations across the heartlands. Another bus will be added to its fleet in the coming months.
PA chief executive director Mr Ang Hak Seng, said: "Although the trains are no longer running at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, we have brought in a bus that can bring people together."
SLA chief executive Mr Tan Boon Khai said the authority, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, is "committed to managing state properties and land for the benefit of all Singaporeans".
The Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru Grassroots Organisations and Central Singapore Community Development Council also set up a farmers' market with 20 booths at the event.
They offered a range of fresh local produce and organic products such as vegetables, cookies, nuts, and pots of herbs.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Tanjong Pagar MP Chan Chun Sing said: "One aim is to get our sense of kampung spirit back, for people to come together... very much like how we did it in the 1960s."
