Getai

A 'Getai' (literally song stage) is a usually boisterous live stage performance held during the Ghost Festival (usually in August) commonly held in Singapore and malaysia. (Wikipedia) It is usually held at open fields, open void decks during the evening at different locations throughout the whole month of August.

Many people, mostly the elder generations would gather as early as 6pm to occupy a seat. You seldom see youths at a getai because 99% of the performance and songs sung are from the 50's, 60's, 70's or 80's. This event was however very popular among the elders. Its like a mini 70's concert to them. The reason for these 'mini-concerts' was that they believed that August is a month that the hell gates open for spirits to roam the mortal world. Therefore they would set-up all these concerts to 'entertain' the dead.

It was one of my Dad's favorite event. During the month of August, he would return home from work at about 5.30pm. Take a shower, have his home cooked dinner, and ta-da! he's gone out to these getai events to enjoy. When I was very young as a kid I vaguely remembered that I went with him before. However, since I was still young and didn't know how to appreciate the songs, I played with grass while my dad watched the performance. Lol. haha. I hope his is enjoying his time with these concerts. =)