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Veteran performing-arts administrator Gideon Arthurs’s hiring follows a period of intense restructuring at the cultural centre

Veteran performing-arts administrator Gideon Arthurs’s hiring follows a period of intense restructuring at the cultural centre

**Halloween Horror Nights 14** keeps screaming until **12.30am** , but the last North East Line train leaves HarbourFront for Punggol Coast at **11.55pm**. That 35-minute gap matters more than any of the four haunted houses. This is the DANAMIC Team’s living guide to **Halloween in Singapore** from **17 October to 1 November 2026**. It sorts every pick by how loudly it will make you scream, from parents booking a morning of trick-or-treating to friends daring each other into a haunted house, and it ends by closing that gap so nobody is stranded on Sentosa after the last scare. Every pick carries danamic’s own scare rating, which is our editorial call. **Level 0 Easy** is family-friendly, and **Level 1 A Little Spooky** is mild enough for older kids with an adult beside them. **Level 2 Proper Scares** brings real frights for teens and up, while **Level 3 Full Haunt** is very scary and meant for teens and adults. Wherever an organiser publishes its own age wording, we quote it word for word alongside. ## Level 3: Full Haunt **Halloween Horror Nights 14** (HHN14) at **Universal Studios Singapore** has been running on selected nights since 25 September. It runs **18 nights** in total, ending on **1 November** , and each night is scheduled from **7.30pm to 12.30am**. The four haunted houses are _Made in Hell: XL Robotics_ , _Singapore’s Most Haunted: On Air_ , _Chatterbox Charlie’s Vaudeville Horrors_ and _Karang Guni: The Cursed Collection_. Our guide to the four new HHN14 houses walks through each one before you commit to a queue. The organiser’s own warning is blunt: HHN14 is _“Not recommended for children under the age of 13, adult discretion is strongly advised.”_ Costumes are welcome, but **costume masks aren’t allowed** , so leave the face-covering part of your outfit at home. From 17 October, the peak nights are **17, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30 and 31 October and 1 November** , and Resorts World Sentosa’s release of 12 August 2026 put regular admission at **S$68 for non-peak nights and S$78 for peak nights**. 📅 **Peak nights from 17 Oct: 17, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31 Oct and 1 Nov** · ⏰ **7.30pm to 12.30am** · 📍 **Universal Studios Singapore, 30 Sentosa Gateway** · 💰 **Regular admission S$68 non-peak, S$78 peak** · 🎟 **Tickets on the RWS HHN14 page** **Haw Ror Villa 5** returns to **Haw Par Villa** , scheduled from **6.30pm to midnight** with **last entry at 10pm** , on the nights listed on the Haw Ror Villa 5 page. It sits near **Haw Par Villa MRT (Circle Line)** , which makes it the only Full Haunt on this list that keeps you on the mainland. Aim to arrive well before 10pm, because once last entry passes, the night is over no matter how far you’ve travelled. ⏰ **6.30pm to midnight, last entry 10pm** · 📍 **Haw Par Villa, near Haw Par Villa MRT (Circle Line)** · 📅 **Nights as listed by Haw Par Villa** ## Level 2: Proper Scares SpoOktober by **HomeTeamNS** spreads across **three weekends** at the **Bedok Reservoir, Bukit Batok and Khatib clubhouses** , so heartland groups in the east, west and north can get proper frights close to home. The haunted sections earn its Level 2 rating, even though HomeTeamNS tickets **ages 4+** , so families with younger children should check what each session covers on the event page before booking. Prices start **from S$22 at the member rate**. 📅 **Three weekends** · 📍 **HomeTeamNS Bedok Reservoir, Bukit Batok and Khatib clubhouses** · 💰 **From S$22 (member)** · 🎟 **Ages 4+ ticketed** ## Levels 0 to 1: Family-Friendly Trick-or-Treat Family Fun at **National Gallery Singapore** is our Level 0 pick for families. Sessions run at **10.30am, 1pm and 3.30pm** on **17, 18, 24, 25 and 31 October and 1 November** , for **ages 3 to 12** , and a **bundle for one parent and one child costs S$68**. Even the latest session starts at 3.30pm, hours before any last train becomes a worry. 📅 **17 to 18, 24 to 25, 31 Oct and 1 Nov** · ⏰ **10.30am, 1pm or 3.30pm** · 📍 **National Gallery Singapore** · 💰 **S$68 (one parent and one child)** · 🎟 **Ages 3 to 12** **Mandai** is running **_The Mischief Within: Boo-Tiful Day_** at **Curiosity Cove** , which sits in our family-friendly band. Check the Mandai event page for what it runs and when. 📍 **Curiosity Cove, Mandai** · 🎟 **Details on the Mandai page** ## Getting Home After HHN14 This is the question readers ask most. HHN14 ends at **12.30am** , which is after both rail links off the island have stopped running: * The **Sentosa Express** runs its last train at **12am (midnight)** from every station. * On the **North East Line** , the last train from **HarbourFront towards Punggol Coast** leaves at **11.55pm** , according to the SBS Transit first and last train page. In practice, staying until the 12.30am close means missing both the Sentosa Express and the last North East Line train. The route that stays open is the **Sentosa Boardwalk** , which runs 24 hours according to Sentosa’s June 2026 Fun Discovery Pass brochure. Part of the Boardwalk is closed for works, with a covered detour in place, and Sentosa’s Getting to Sentosa page shows the current route. Resorts World Sentosa told us on 12 October that the **RWS8 bus** to VivoCity runs extended hours on HHN14 event nights, with the **last bus at 1.45am** and a bus about every 20 minutes, and it advises guests leaving after midnight to take it. Taxis and ride-hail pick up at **RWS WEAVE B1**. So you can leave HHN14 early enough for the 11.55pm train, or stay until closing and take the RWS8 bus. ## Which Night to Book For the biggest scare, book an HHN14 non-peak night at S$68, and decide before you go whether you’re leaving for the 11.55pm train or taking the RWS8 bus after the 12.30am finish. If you’d rather skip the Sentosa logistics, Haw Ror Villa 5 is the better late plan: arrive by its 10pm last entry. With kids aged 3 to 12, the National Gallery’s 10.30am session is the earliest slot on each of its listed days. Grab your HHN14 night on the Universal Studios Singapore Halloween Horror Nights 14 page or a family slot through National Gallery Singapore, and save this page so your route home is sorted before the first haunted house.

The sprawling 10-acre arts, culture and recreation campus on Toronto’s central waterfront, has hired a new CEO with a high profile on the arts scene — Gideon Arthurs.

VivoCity’s **20th birthday bash** opens at **Central Court** on **Monday, 12 October 2026** , and its headline act is a miniature car race around a track modelled on the mall itself. If your usual HarbourFront weekend is a movie, a meal and a wander along the waterfront, this is a reason to stay longer. The mall first opened on 7 October 2006, so it turned 20 last Wednesday. Its year-long campaign, **VC20: Celebrating 20 Years, For Everyone** , began in March, and the stretch from **12 October to 1 November** is its busiest point. That stretch includes a week-long **VC20 Birthday Playground** , three weekends of deals, and two collectibles made with **The Art Faculty (TAF)** , a social enterprise by the **Autism Resource Centre (Singapore)** , or ARC. VivoCity is owned by Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust (MPACT), a real estate investment trust. Gwen Au, Vice President for Marketing Communications at MPACT Property Management Pte. Ltd., says the team “wanted this milestone to be a celebration that everyone can be part of.” That leaves two questions: which parts are fun enough to be worth your Saturday, and how much the “give back” collectibles actually give. ## Small Cars, Real Leaderboard The **VC20 Mini Grand Prix** is the main attraction. VivoCity says it runs on a **6m by 4m** physical circuit inspired by the mall, where racers sit at simulator rigs and steer miniature cars around the track while friends crowd the barrier and shout encouragement. A racer grips the wheel at a VC20 Mini Grand Prix simulator as the miniature cars head into the track’s next turn Pricing depends on when you go. From **12 to 16 October** , races are walk-in only at **S$15 nett** for a 10-minute race, **S$65** for five or **S$120** for ten, with a minimum height of 1.2m. Instead, a minimum spend of **S$80** in up to two same-day receipts gets you a shorter five-minute race and a place on the leaderboard, and the overall champion wins a prize worth **S$2,000** in VivoCity and mystery eVouchers. Here’s our advice. If you were going to spend S$80 at the mall that weekend anyway, the weekend race costs you nothing extra and gives you a shot at the prize. If you’d rather practise first, the ten-race bundle works out to S$12 a race, and the weekday races are the only way to get extra time behind the wheel before the leaderboard opens. ## The Free Picks Worth Queueing For Two playground activities cost nothing at all. **Make the VC20 Headlines** is a newsprint photobooth by **Solace Studios** that harks back to opening day on 7 October 2006, putting you on a newspaper-style front page with a modern anniversary design. A free printed souvenir with your face on the front page? That’s a rare thing at a mall event. **Colour Our 20** is a digital colouring station. You fill in outlines adapted from VivoCity-inspired artworks by TAF artists, and your finished piece appears on a big screen as part of a shared mural built by visitors throughout the week. Both run from **12 to 18 October** , during the playground’s 10am to 10pm opening hours. ## Stop the Clock at 20 **Hit The Perfect 20** sounds simple: stop a timer at exactly 20 seconds. Get it right and you win a prize, plus bragging rights at every family dinner afterwards. You’ll need a minimum spend of **S$80** in up to two same-day receipts to play, and sessions run from **12pm to 2pm and 6pm to 8pm** on weekdays, and **4pm to 8pm** on Saturday and Sunday. A young player hits the button at 20:00 on the Hit the Perfect 20 timer while her family celebrates beside her It’s the most family-friendly game in the line-up, and also the hardest to beat. Counting to 20 in your head is easy until a group of cousins is yelling over your shoulder. ## Squishies and Clay Cupcakes For younger children, **VC20 Make & Celebrate** is a 15-minute Crunchy Squishy workshop by **SPLATTIFY**. It runs from **12 to 16 October** , 12pm to 8pm, for children aged three and above, with parental supervision recommended. Walk-in tickets are **S$29 nett** , down from the usual price of S$59 for the duration of the event. A glittery squishy of the kind children make at SPLATTIFY’s 15-minute VC20 Make & Celebrate workshop The **VC20 Cupcake Creations** air-dry clay workshop on 17 and 18 October is open to VivoCity Kids Club members only. VivoCity says every session was fully booked as of 6 October, so check the SPLATTIFY workshop instead if your children are keen on crafts. ## Weekend Deals, If You’re Spending Anyway From 17 October, the deals move out of Central Court. **VC20 Power Hour** releases eight anniversary-only offers at **2pm and 5.20pm** on **17, 18, 24 and 25 October** , each from a different store and each lasting an hour. VivoCity posts each upcoming deal on its social media channels before it goes live. The **VC20 Rewards Capsule** at **West Boulevard, Level 1** runs from **4pm to 8pm** across three weekends, ending on **1 November**. A minimum spend of **S$120** in up to two same-day receipts gets you a turn at a capsule machine, with a weekly grand prize of **S$2,000** in eVouchers. It’s limited to the first 240 qualifying VivoRewards members each day. New members who sign up and spend at least **S$120** on a single receipt get a **S$5** eVoucher, limited to the first 1,000 people. Every perk here requires spending, so plan around a shop you’d be doing anyway. ## Does the S$2 Give-Back Add Up? The TAF collaboration started earlier this year, when VivoCity commissioned TAF artists to create their own interpretations of the mall; those designs first appeared on a VC20 x TAF Bottle. This month brings two more collectibles. For every one redeemed, **Mapletree and VivoCity donate S$2** to ARC, which supports its programmes for differently-abled artists. The VC20 x TAF Pouch, printed with a red rocket design, is redeemable with a minimum spend of S$150 The **VC20 x TAF Pouch** needs a minimum spend of **S$150** in up to two same-day receipts. Redemptions are capped at **120 on weekdays and 240 on weekends** , one per VivoRewards member per day. Spending at FairPrice Xtra doesn’t count, and you’ll receive an in-app notification when you qualify. The **VC20 x TAF Tote Bag** needs a **S$300** spend, with a cap of **100 on weekdays and 150 on weekends**. VivoRewards Gold members who qualify also get a **S$10 MINISO eVoucher** , limited to the first 40 each day. VivoCity’s VC20 key art puts the birthday cake, the miniature racetrack and the Perfect 20 timer into one frame Here’s what that means for the donation. On a weekend day when every pouch and tote is claimed, that’s 390 items, or **S$780** to ARC; on a full weekday, it’s 220 items and S$440. That’s real money going to a cause, though the pledge is tied to redemptions, so it depends on how many people reach those spend levels. The longer-lasting win may be the art itself, which shoppers will see across the colouring wall and on the bags they carry home. If you choose one, get the pouch: its spend threshold is half the tote’s, and it carries the same TAF rocket design. 🗓️ **Date:** 12 October to 1 November 2026 (Birthday Playground runs 12 to 18 October) ⏰ **Time:** Birthday Playground 10am to 10pm daily; Power Hour at 2pm and 5.20pm on 17, 18, 24 and 25 October; Rewards Capsule 4pm to 8pm on weekends 📍 **Location:** Central Court, Level 1 and West Boulevard, Level 1, VivoCity, HarbourFront 🎟️ **Tickets:** From **12 to 16 October** , races are walk-in only at **S$15 nett** for a 10-minute race, **S$65** for five or **S$120** for ten, with a minimum height of 1.2m 🔗 **Details:** VivoCity’s official website and Instagram (@vivocitysingapore) The free photobooth and colouring wall make the birthday worth a visit without spending a cent, and the mini race brings back some of the excitement of a day out at HarbourFront. The playground opens on Monday, 12 October, so check VivoCity’s official website, its Instagram (@vivocitysingapore) or its Facebook page (vivocity.sg) for each Power Hour drop. Then grab some friends, hit that S$80 spend, and race for the S$2,000 prize on 17 and 18 October! **_Photos and Visuals courtesy of VivoCity._**

The Romeo Napoli hotel in Naples, Italy, offers a luxurious experience blending contemporary art with stunning harbour views. Located on the harbourfront, the hotel features a striking glassy ocean-blue facade with horizontal steel 'waves' that sets it apart from typical Italian architecture. Upon arrival, guests are greeted by the vibrant chaos of Naples' streets, contrasting with the hotel's calm, air-conditioned interior and attentive staff. The hotel is essentially a contemporary art gallery, with artworks by Neapolitan and international artists displayed throughout public and private spaces, including the lobby, spa, and guestrooms. The lobby showcases pieces like Edo-era samurai armour, a red baby grand piano, and Hermes ceramics, creating a hyperactive rather than restful atmosphere. The 10th-floor rooftop features a glass-walled infinity pool with panoramic views of the Bay of Naples, Castel Nuovo, and Mount Vesuvius. Guests can enjoy the views while lounging on sunbeds or ordering Krug and cocktails. The hotel also offers a basement spa, La Spa Sisley Paris, featuring a salt room, saunas, jacuzzi, steam room, and a unique Kneipp walk. Accommodation includes harbour-view rooms with sleek furnishings, including Don' do by Poltrona Frau rocking chairs, and some suites with private saunas, steam rooms, gyms, and Zen gardens. The hotel's ninth-floor restaurant, Il Ristorante Alain Ducasse, serves a standout a la carte breakfast with views of the bay, while the Michelin-starred restaurant offers refined Mediterranean cuisine. The location provides easy access to Capri, Ischia, the Amalfi Coast, and Naples' historical centre, with the Chiaia neighbourhood offering shopping and nightlife. The hotel is part of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, with rooms starting from €555 per night including breakfast and spa access. The review highlights the hotel's unique blend of Neapolitan glamour, exceptional views, and proximity to key attractions, making it an unbeatable choice for luxury travellers seeking a stylish harbourside escape in Naples.

The sprawling arts, culture and recreation campus has hired a new CEO with a high profile — Gideon Arthurs.