This weekend until next, pop by the Heritage Fest hubs in Suntec City and in malls around the island as we ask the question, Who’s Your Neighbour? It’s like visiting one big Open House, except all on the same day.

The tradition of Open House seems to be lost in today’s society, and it’s a shame. Some of our older readers may remember that community celebrations such as Chinese New Year and Hari Raya were occasions to ‘Open House’ and receive visitors all day. Open Houses best capture the celebrated ‘kampong spirit’: besides family and invited guests, one would also expect to find your neighbours dropping by, no matter what race or religious affiliation. They were opportunities to share culture (food, mostly!) and promote understanding. The paradox today is that we live in more densely packed environments, but we know less of our neighbours now than in our kampong days.

So at the Corridors of Celebration at the Heritage Fest Hub in Suntec City, this year’s focus is on the Open Houses and the many sights you’d expect to find at the different Open Houses of each community. You’ll notice that there aren’t many people in the rooms and I deliberately took the pictures as such by way of inviting you to populate these Open Houses, by visiting the Heritage Fest activities, as well as to consider opening your house to your neighbours during your next festive celebration.

Actually, the reason why there weren’t so many people in these pictures was because everyone’s attention was drawn to the stage for the live performances carried out throughout the day. The group performing then was the Machpherson Nusantara Orchestra and the Siglap Nusantara Orchestra. ‘Nusantara’ is aptly named for this year’s theme – the word roughly translates to the ‘Malay World’, and regionally, the Malay World is our closest neigbour.

Also at the Corridors of Celebration is a wall celebrating neighbourliness, where guests can write notes for their neighbours. After seeing all the notes on the walls, perhaps there’s some inspiration to kindle friendships with your neighbours?