The IGNITE! Takes on Town Tradition

by Carlissia Kew

Drop The Bass: They say the brightest flame burns the quickest, but the IGNITE! Takes on Town team were merely having a short nap
before they continued to ignite the streets of town. PHOTO BY: AZMI ATHNI/PHOTO REPUBLIC IG

A mass of people decked out in red and black were marching down the streets of Orchard last Saturday morning in fits of excitement and synchronized cheers – no, it was not a post-celebration for SG50 – it was Republic Polytechnic’s IGNITE! Takes on Town. The tradition of conquering the streets by storm to generate hype for the school’s annual IGNITE! Music Festival was ignited 2 years ago back in 2013 when it had its first run and is still burning as bright as ever this year.

IGNITE! Takes on Town is one of the many fringe events that fall under IGNITE! Music Festival, a student driven annual music festival organized by and held in Republic Polytechnic that provides a platform for rising and established home brewed acts to showcase their passion for music. This year’s take on town which fell on the 15th of August conquered the route of ION Orchard all the way to Marina Bay Sands, having started from as early as 10am and lasting all the way till 4.30pm.

The 100 over people strong student body was made up of members and crew under IGNITE! Music Festival along with the participation of various Interest Groups (IGs). This year saw both fresh and familiar faces from last year, with the return of Jammerz Arena, Beats Encore, Rhapsody, Replug, Drama, Capoeira and the Student Council, followed by new turn ups such as Campus Arts Production and Gamelan Naga Kencana.

“Despite it being tiring having to walk from Orchard all the way to Marina Bay Sands, it was fun to be able to make new friends and promote IGNITE! Music Festival by accomplishing something we don’t get to see every day,” chimed Neng Fadhilah Bte Zulkarnaen, a second year School of Technology for the Arts (STA) student from Gamelan Naga Kencana.

Amidst all the cheering, the activities of this year’s IGNITE! Takes on Town were the ‘honk if you want us to dance’ segment carried down from last year, where students held up boards at traffic lights in hopes that drivers were game enough to join in on the fun, the ‘free hugs’ segments where warm embraces were given out to unsuspecting passerbys on the street and ‘stop the motion’ where the students froze in the middle of town. The highlight however, was ‘drop the bass’, where the whole 100 over strong student body literally dropped on the ground which granted curious stares and even camera opportunities from onlookers.

“Drop The Bass really caught the attention of the people around us, and it felt really special to be seen doing something different like this in public,” Said Nicole Ho Mei En, a third year Centre for Enterprise and Communication (CEC) student from the IGNITE! Music Festival Marketing Team.

Despite the fast paced nature of the event and the scorching sun, it did not stop some of the students from showing passion and compassion, one of the values of IGNITE! Music Festival, by purchasing tissues from an old uncle on the streets.

The idea of strutting down the streets and cheering your heart out might sound like a simple enough thing to accomplish, but behind the scenes of this large scale event comes meticulous planning of no small feat; preparation for the event dated back to as early as 4 months before.

“It was insanely busy for us having to manage our studies and prepare for IGNITE! Takes on Town at the same time and we faced many obstacles planning out the route along the way but despite all that, I am glad that my teammates and I managed to push through by not giving up till the very end,” said Amelia Wong Lee Teng, a second year Centre for Enterprise and Communication (CEC) student from the IGNITE! Takes on Town Campaigns Team.

Despite the difficulty of pulling such an event off, IGNITE! Music Festival hopes to continue keeping the tradition of taking over town by storm alive in the next few years to come.

IGNITE! Music Festival happens this Friday and Saturday on the 21st and 22nd of August starting from 4PM at Republic Polytechnic’s Lawn.