Events Management – Vesak Day/Festival in Singapore
A Research Project
Presented By:
Table of Contents
Executive Summary……………………………………………………… page 3
Introduction………………………………………………………………. page 4
The Body………………………………………………………………….. page 5
Conclusions……………………………………………………………….. page 11
Recommendations………………………………………………………… page 12
List of references…………………………………………………………. page 14
Glossary…………………………………………………………………… page 16
Appendices………………………………………………………………… page 16
Executive Summary
The highlight will be Vesak Parade which will consist of 10 themed decorated floats in Singapore and more than 10 performing troupes comprising both local and international troupes. Festivals encourage sense of community pride and cohesiveness. It's not often that everyone in town gets invited to the same party. Festivals provide rare occasion for the whole community to relax and have fun. Festivals may have certain educational values. For instance, important historical events can be taken out of the classroom and brought to life through skits, costume contests, reenactments and other commemorative events. Festivals are ideal occasions for artists and crafts people to demonstrate and exhibit their skills. Festivals focus on the broad spectrum of the state's culture. Festivals stimulate travel to community and the surrounding region. This encourages the community to grow and prosper by attracting dollars in the form of tourism and in cases, new industry. The key to the success of a festival is that goals and objectives must be identified and defined, to celebrate the town and its people are most often quoted as the purpose of an unsuccessful event.
Introduction
The Vesak Day is imperative occasion being observed in Singapore major day in Buddhist calendar. The Vesak Day in Singapore is observed to memorialize Lord Buddha's entry into Nirvana after attaining saintly enlightenment. On the Vesak Day Singapore, huge crowd assembles at various Buddhist temples around the city. Inside the Buddha temples the monks chant sacred hymns and such number of devotees set caged birds free. Setting the imprisoned birds free is considered as graceful gesture which serves as mark of respect to all living creatures in the world. Some of the most advantageous points in the city for observing the festivities of Vesak Day in Singapore are the Buddhist Lodge at River Valley Road, The Thai Buddhist Temple at . Vesak Day festival is observed in different manners all over the world. On this day, the Buddhist youths organize blood donation camps and distribute gifts to the poor people. During the evenings, candlelit processions are found walking across the streets of the city and this is how the festival is ended. The Singapore Vesak Day is celebrated around the month of March and is yearly event. The entry to the Vesak Day festival free of cost and people can enter the temples free of cost. Vesak or Buddha Day is an important Buddhist Festival of the Theravada Buddhists, which celebrates the birth, enlightenment and salvation of Buddha. The festival is celebrated in Singapore on the full moon day of the Lunar month of Vesakh, which falls on 30th April in Singapore. Vesak Day is observed in different manners all over the world.
In Singapore, the celebration begins with the chanting of the Sutras by the monks and devotees in Buddhist Temples followed by ritual of releasing of small animals or confined birds. Buddhist youths also organize blood donation camps and giving away of gifts to the poor on this day. The festival is concluded by a candle-lit procession being carried throughout the street. The festival celebrated with great ceremonial ritual by Buddhists is Vesak Day, which commemorates the birth and enlightenment of Buddha and his entry into Nirvana. The day starts with chanting of the sutras by saffron clad monks, while devotees visit the temples to pray and meditate and to make offerings. Acts of generosity known as Dana are observed by Buddhist organizations and temples. These include the freeing of caged birds and animals, visiting and giving alms to the poor and needy, while some Buddhist youths organize mass blood donation at hospitals. The celebration concludes with a candlelit procession through the streets. Observers as well as devotees are welcome to join in the celebration at Buddhist temples.
The Body
The Way in Singapore
Singapore's immigrants made their religious congregations a form of social organization. From the foundation of the city, colonial authorities had avoided interfering with the religious affairs of the ethnic communities, fostering an atmosphere of religious tolerance. It was characteristic of colonial Singapore that South Bridge Street, a major thoroughfare in the old Chinatown, should also be the site of the Sri Mariamman Temple, a south Indian Hindu temple and of the , which served Chulia Muslims from India's Coromandel Coast.
Tourism Value
In Singapore its public manifestations included large temples housing images of deities believed to respond to human appeals for guidance or relief from affliction and use of the common Chinese cycle of calendrical festivals. The fifteenth of fifth lunar month in Singapore known as Vesak Day and celebrated as marking the birth of the Buddha; the festival of the hungry ghosts in the seventh lunar month, a major Hokkien holiday, marked by domestic feasting and elaborate public rituals to feed and placate the potentially dangerous souls of those with no descendants to worship them; and the mid-autumn festival on the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month, an occasion for exchanging gifts of sweet round moon cakes and admiring the full moon. Chinese temples held one or more annual festivals, marked by street processions, performances of Chinese traditional operas and domestic banquets to which those who supported the temple, either because of residential propinquity, sub-ethnic affiliation with a particular temple and its deity, or personal devotion to the god, invited their friends and business associates. To prevent the disruption of traffic and preserve public order, the government limited the length and route of street processions and prohibited the use of the long strings of firecrackers that had previously been a component of all Chinese religious display. Some festivals or customs that had little religious significance or were not practiced by the southeastern Chinese migrants were promoted by the government's Singapore Tourist Promotion Board for their spectacular and innocuous content. Compartmentalization referred to the Hindus tendency to distinguish between the home, in which they maintained a nearly completely orthodox Hindu pattern of diet and ritual observance, and the secular outer world of work, school, and public life, where they did not apply categories of purity and pollution. Singapore lacked the tightly organized caste groups of communities found in India but replaced them in large-scale temple festivals with groups representing those of the same occupation or place of employment. Citizens were encouraged to learn about the festivals of other religious and ethnic groups and to invite members of other groups to their own celebrations and feasts.
Relevant Stakeholders
The marketplace is becoming more competitive and there is greater interest in issues such as the life cycle of festivals, and the possibility of saturation within given area (Cited from, Kwak 2005 in Getz, 1997). Many festival managers are not taking full advantage of their assets due to a lack of a market research or professional skills. According to Walle, “there exists certain constraints on local committees and clubs involved in organizing special events, such as lack of guidelines for event planning, management and marketing and lack of practical training programs to provide the essential ‘how to’ information” (Cited from, Kwak 2005 in Walle 1995, p. 23). In fact, the field of event management has gained professional status thanks to the increase in professional education programs focused on event management. In order to be competitive in this market, event organizers must manage themselves like a business. Thus, it is getting crucial for the event managers to be strategically partnering with businesses or community partners, along with investing more time and effort into researching potential sponsorship opportunities, in order to achieve their revenue goal. From perspective, festivals are constantly being challenged by changing marketing practices. To that end, it is more important for event organizers in small cities to be attentive to emerging marketing practices and trends in the event and festival field in order to be sustainable in the competitive market, even when it may be demanding for them to apply management strategies. The number of special events in Singapore is increasing and it seems that everybody recognizes the growing significance of cultural festivals and special events in terms of their economic and social impact on its community.
Social Impact
Some of these studies have attempted to prove the economic impact of festivals by presenting the quantifiable data that can represent the extent to which special events contribute to the local economy. As Peterson and Crayton stated (Cited from, Kwak 2005 in 1995), the key to both the financial and community success of festivals or major events is the participation of sponsors. As Goldblatt (Cited from, Kwak 2005 in 2002) pointed out, “Many event managers still confuse sponsorship with benevolence which donors contribute without any expectation of commercial benefit” (in Goldblatt, p. 268). The significance of an economy impact statement in gaining the attention of potential stakeholders has been declared by many researches in the recent past. Peterson and Crayton (Cited from, Kwak 2005 in 1995) state that an official economic impact studies can show that the festival is a profitable, legitimate business practically it can help a festival gain the sponsorships necessary to run successful major event (in Peterson and Crayton, p.187). According to the “Foghorn Newsletter” of the University of Wisconsin Extension (Cited from, Kwak 2005 in July, 2004), “Many festivals are roughly break-even in revenue generation and have quite an appetite for public funds.” However, in fact, cities and municipalities find it more difficult to provide public funds for festival costs and often request festivals organizers to pay for services provided by local governments”(Cited from, Kwak 2005 in Foghorn, July, 2004). Goldblatt (Cited from, Kwak 2005 in 1997) stressed that the event professionals who are able to respond to challenging economic times with sound financial practices will produce and sustain consistently profitable events. Goldblatt (Cited from, Kwak 2005 in 1997) stated that the event and festival field, in general, had moved from birth to growth to maturity and now faces complacence which can be followed by decline or by reinvention and sustained growth through education and strategic planning. According to Goldblatt, “Festivals and fairs have shown tremendous growth as small and large towns seek tourism dollars through these short term events. Some communities use these events to boost tourism during the slow or off-season and others focus primarily on weekends to appeal to leisure travelers” (Cited from, Kwak 2005 in Goldblatt 1997, p.7). He also said that fairs and festivals provide unlimited opportunities for organizations to celebrate their culture while providing deep meaning for those who participate and attend, no matter what purposes their events serve.
Economic Analysis
The significance of having festivals established for the community has been supported by many literatures from various perspectives. According to Mary Barr (Cited from, Kwak 2005 in 1998), “Marketing and special events can draw people into downtown, ringing the cash registers of downtown retailers, museums and service-related businesses, and bringing money to municipal coffers in the form of increased tax revenues”(in, Mary Barr p. 16). Then, Johnny Allen (Cited from, Kwak 2005 in 2002) affirmed “All events can enhance the quality of life of a neighborhood, by adding to its sense of place and residential amenity" in, Allen p. 29). According to Crompton (Cited from, Kwak 2005 in 1995), special events can generate substantial economic costs, often forgotten in the euphoria surrounding the event. Walo (Cited from, Kwak 2005 in 1996) stated in his research: “The direct and indirect benefits of a local special event include increases in employment, extra services, infrastructure, and improvements. Intangible benefits such as growth in community being vitally involved in event planning and production” (in Walo, p. 97). “Acquiring resources must be closely related to general public relations strategies, as resource acquisition will often depend on developing strong image and network in the community. Another way to look at this linkage is to say that tangible resources and political/community support are two sides of the same coin” (Cited from, Kwak 2005 in Getz. 1997, p. 187). Peterson and Crayton (Cited from, Kwak 2005 in 1995) suggested that an economic impact study can be a powerful tool to develop and maintain sponsors for festivals. It provides concrete evidence of the festival’s financial status and the ability to attract spending tourists and provides invaluable publicity for participating firms (in Peterson and Crayton, p. 22).
The Significance
The significance of Vesak lies with the Buddha and his universal peace message to mankind. As we recall the Buddha and his Enlightenment, we are immediately reminded of the unique and most profound knowledge and insight which arose in him on the night of his Enlightenment. This coincided with three important events which took place, corresponding to the three watches or periods of the night. During the first watch of the night, when his mind was calm, clear and purified, light arose in him, knowledge and insight arose. Then during the final watch of the night, he saw the arising and cessation of all phenomena, mental and physical. He saw how things arose dependent on causes and conditions. This led him to perceive the arising and cessation of suffering and all forms of unsatisfactoriness paving the way for the eradication of all taints of cravings. With the complete cessation of craving, his mind was completely liberated. He attained to Full Enlightenment. The realization dawned in him together with all psychic powers. When we become aware of the unsatisfactory nature of life, we would naturally want to get out from such a state. From the Buddhist point of view, therefore, the purpose of life is to put an end to suffering and all other forms of unsatisfactoriness - to realize peace and real happiness. The mind that is free from remorse is naturally calm and tranquil, and ready for concentration with awareness. The concentrated and cultured mind is contemplative and analytical mind. It is capable of seeing cause and effect, and the true nature of existence, thus paving the way for wisdom and insight.
Conclusions
The research has helped to identify and clarify practices of Vesak festival in its management production. There is potential to help event managers to recognize their current revenue generating performance by comparing them with current trends and emerging strategies used to increase revenue for events and festivals. Most of all, paradigm in events and festivals are more successful, whereas small and medium sized festivals tend to suffer from the challenging revenue producing environment necessary to creating or sustain festivals. Thus, it has become more important for event organizers to understand the potential causes of failure and to be able to generate ideas in order to generate more revenue and to improve the quality of their festivals. This study cautiously claims that festivals relies heavily upon the extent to which festival managers are attempting to upgrade their performance in every aspect of managing festivals, not only to win the competition for audiences but also to survive in the rapidly changing times which require event professionals to constantly develop their marketing tools and practices for generating revenue. Vesak therefore, is to remind oneself of the Buddha's example, of what is possible and what it is that is worth striving for, a day for focusing the mind on just what a remarkable individual the Buddha was, and what an amazing example he gave to the world of what it means to be a complete human being.
Recommendations
First, it is important that professionals and committee members train themselves to be more competent as revenue generators by attending workshops or reading articles or books not only about event and festival management but also from corporate marketing and entertainment. Most medium sized festivals tend to be organized by a small number of people who make important decisions related to programming and marketing, yet the success of festivals largely depends on the extent to which the executive director or other core staff members are competent in securing adequate resources to maintain or upgrade the quality of the festival. Therefore, it is highly important for professionals in charge of revenue generation to constantly keep up to date with information in the festival field. In addition, event managers should consider benchmarking successful practices in festivals related to successful revenue generating activities. Strategies such as producing festival merchandise that can generate sustainable income or partnering with other nonprofits to expand the capacity of attracting an audience are known trends that generate revenue. Of course, every festival has different circumstances and so the successful marketing strategy for one may not work for another festival. However, those event managers who carefully research their markets and then adapt successful practices working elsewhere to their own festival may find that it is well worth it to take a risk. Lastly, event managers for medium sized festivals should be more proactive in increasing revenue and seeking out alternative revenue sources, and not be content to just manage the budget from existing sources. Unlike large-scaled festivals, medium sized festivals tend to follow the same process as they did in the previous year. Professionals working for medium sized festivals first need to realize that there are many sponsorship opportunities that they can secure and that there exists more possibilities for increasing ticket sales. Event managers need to work on creating new marketing plans with the objective of increasing ticket sales and selling more sponsorship after carefully evaluating results.
Festivals and special events are ideal components of Singapore tourism industry as not only offer communities an opportunity to celebrate whatever they wish, they also provide attractions for visitors from nearby towns and states. It is difficult to determine the exact number of festivals and special events taking place each year, but it is easy to see that festivals are becoming more popular as more and more communities organize kinds of special events throughout the year. Some communities host numerous celebrations. Festivals and special events are staged for many reasons. Besides being informative and enjoyable, they provide number of important benefits to the community. Thus, planning includes a realistic budget. Even though this will be task for the finance committee, each committee needs to submit their individual budget. It's not good enough to hold a plain generic festival anymore. The event must have theme and concept to provide solid base for variety of interesting and promo table activities. The theme should be indigenous to the community's personality, legends and natural attraction. Whatever the theme, it must be something to which the local community can relate and that is either unique or has enough interest to attract visitors. Because festivals seldom are instant successes in drawing tourists from outside the region, planners need to ensure that the theme and activities of the event will attract local residents as well. To counteract cycle, festival operators must either
1) Expand the promotional efforts beyond the local population
2) Improve the product, add to or redesign the festival
The festival board should continue to meet with the finance committee to make final accounting of all revenues and expenditures. Be sure to pay bills as soon
as possible. Finally, it may be a good idea to schedule an after the
event party to reward everyone that helped with the festival. People have chance to relax and share the experiences of a long and interesting day. Festivals is refraining from violence and a respect for all life. It is not merely the violence of animal or human slaughter, but being conscious of the violent images we take into our mind in our consumptive leisure practices. Festivals makes awareness of life part of daily consumptive and productive practices, and thereby tames spectacle understanding and practice. The change from spectacle to festival is gradual process; one that does not involve blame and judgment.
Appendices
Source: Lecture on Vesak Day United Nations, 15 May 2000 at: <http://www.buddhanet.net/budmsg.htm>
Despite the tremendous advances humankind has made in science and technology, advances that have dramatically improved living conditions in so many ways, we still find ourselves confronted with global problems that mock our most determined attempts to solve them within established frameworks. From a Buddhist perspective, what is most striking when we reflect upon these problems as a whole is their essentially symptomatic character. Beneath their outward diversity they appear to be so many manifestations of a common root, of a deep and hidden spiritual malignancy infecting our social organism. The multitude of social ills that afflict us cannot be adequately accounted for without bringing into view the powerful human drives that lie behind them. While changes in social structures and policies are surely necessary to counteract the many forms of violence and injustice so widespread in today's world, such changes alone will not be enough to usher in an era of true peace and social stability. Speaking from perspective, one must learn to detach ourselves from the insistent voice of self-interest and rise up to universal perspective from which the welfare of all appears as important as one's own good. Genuine peace between peoples and nations grows out of peace and good will in the hearts of human beings. Such peace cannot be won merely by material progress, by economic development and technological innovation, but demands moral and mental development. It is only by transforming ourselves that we can transform our world in the direction of peace and amity.
Bringing happiness to others
Celebrating Visa means making special efforts to bring happiness to the unfortunate like the aged, the handicapped and the sick. To this day, Buddhists will distribute gifts in cash and kind to various charitable homes throughout the country. Visa is also a time for great joy and happiness, expressed not by pandering to one’s appetites but by concentrating on useful activities such as decorating and illuminating temples, painting and creating exquisite scenes from the life of the Buddha for public dissemination. Devout Buddhists also vie with one another to provide refreshments and vegetarian food to devotees who visit the temple to pay homage to the Enlightened One.
Paying homage to the Buddha
Tradition ascribes to the Buddha himself instruction on how to pay him homage. Just before he died, he saw his faithful attendant Ananda, weeping. The Buddha advised him not to weep, but to understand the universal law that all compounded things must disintegrate. He advised everyone not to cry over the disintegration of the physical body but to regard his teachings as their teacher from then on, because only the Dhamma truth is eternal and not subject to the law of change. He also stressed that the way to pay homage to him was not merely by offering flowers, incense, and lights, but by truly and sincerely striving to follow his teachings. This is how devotees are expected to celebrate Vesak: to use the opportunity to reiterate their determination to lead noble lives, to develop their minds, to practice loving-kindness and to bring peace and harmony to humanity.
Special Being
First it celebrates the birth of a unique and very special human being. The Buddhawas born into a life of privilege and pleasure, surrounded by all that one could wish for in a material sense. Although his mother died soon after he was born, there seems little doubt that he was loved and cherished by his family. His father hoped that one day his son was succeed him as the head of his people. As he grew up, he experienced much that -on the face of it - should make one happy. But despite all this, there was something gnawing away at him, a sense that all these natural pleasures could not last and would one day vanish. He saw himself, his father, his wife, his child and, indeed, all mankind, subject to the vicissitudes of life - old age, sickness and death. His sense of desolation in the face of this awareness must have been acute. Why else would he have been prepared to leave it all behind?
Enlightenment
Second, it celebrates the Buddha's awakening. After six years of hardship and continual striving the Buddha finally gained enlightenment. The profundity of this experience left him in no doubt that he had achieved final knowledge, that there was something beyond the cycle of old age, sickness and death, that there was an end to suffering. As he sat meditating under the Bodhi tree, he realized that he had been reborn many times; that all beings were reborn according to their deeds; that suffering was fueled by craving and that there was means of bringing this suffering to an end. What comes through in the scriptures is the Buddha's absolute certainty that he had attained ultimate realization and that he knew the precise means by which others could attain it too. The Buddha's enlightenment experience, therefore, is beacon of hope enlightenment is possible and you don't have to be superhuman or a god to walk the path that leads to it.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment