BCSG 2017!

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2016 has been a fabulous year of Blythe conventions galore: BlytheCon Japan in Tokyo, BlytheCon US in San Francisco, BlytheCon Europe in Hamburg, BlytheCon UK in Edinburgh (not sure how some Scots feel about still being part of the UK) and BlytheFest Australia.

Now, some folks in the Singapore Blythe community are planning the first Blythe convention - BCSG 2017.

The beautiful BCSG 2017 poster (above) was a collaboration between Singaporean artists Sheena Aw of Caramelaw and Pei Hsien of peithedragon, and incorporates several modern icons of Singapore. I am awed at how they managed to meld their very different art styles to create the lovely poster.

Date

BCSG 2017 will be on 18 November 2017 (as confirmed in January 2017), and is generally aimed at the Asia-Pacific region. It will be held at YWCA Fort Canning Lodge (6 Fort Canning Road, Singapore 179494), a venue near Fort Canning Park.

BCSG 2017 Travel Blythe, Miss Joaquim

The BCSG 2017 travelling Blythe is made by Sheena Aw of Caramelaw, and will be a raffle prize at BCSG 2017. Her base doll is a Beatrice Vest, which was generously donated by Hussey (@bakemonohime) and she has been lovingly painted with some national icons, including orchids, and the Singapura cat (aka Kucinta).

Caramelaw's custom dolls are no strangers to Blythe collectors and customisers worldwide, and one of them has graced the cover page of Louis Bou's The Doll Scene (April 2014, Rockport Publishers).

Applications to host her closed on 1 November 2016, and her overseas hosts will be:

• Tantty Ali (@tanttyalilady10t) in Sabah, Malaysia;
• Jannette Le (@jannmakesthings) in Melbourne, Australia; 
• Hayley (@haylee_darling_starling_) in Queensland, Australia Katie Saarikko (Blythopia and @katiesaarikko) in Canberra, Australia; and 
• Angel Clemente (@electro_cute) in Vancouver, Canada.

She has been christened Miss Joaquim, after the Vanda Miss Joaquim, Singapore's national flower. Myself and the BCSG folks have been photo-spamming her online!

Theme

The BCSG 2017 theme is City in a Garden.

It is not some random theme. The Singapore Government has implemented a greening policy, introduced as the "Garden City" in 1967, since her independence from the British Empire in 1963. Subsequently, some time in the mid- or late-2000s, the Singapore Government further developed the greening policy, with the aim of transforming Singapore from a Garden City to a City in a Garden.

As much as I would love to discuss the political aspects of the greening policy (e.g. nation-building) and its consequential accompanying epithets, this isn't the right moment or forum. Suffice to say, however, that the "Garden City" or "City in a Garden" are not hollow epithets. Although Singapore is a small city-state of 719.2 sq km with a population density of 7,797 per sq km, she boasts a lot of green spaces:

• over 300 parks and 4 nature reserves; 
• 629 community gardens; 
• 255 Heritage Trees; 
• 322 sky-rise greenery (namely, greenery that has been integrated into urban buildings); 
• 16 Nature Ways; and 
• 2 Tree Conservation Areas totalling 4,900 hectares. 

(The aforementioned figures are from the Singapore Government's Department of Statistics and National Parks Board.)

On a side note, as per her population density, Singapore is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. (Last I checked, she ranked the third per 2015 statistics.)

Must add there is the Singapore Botanic Gardens, established in 1859, and inscribed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site on 4 July 2015 - a short time before Singapore celebrated her Golden Jubilee on 9 August 2015.

Just as the Singapore Botanic Gardens are part of Singapore's colonial heritage, the 101-hectare Gardens by the Bay, created in 2012, is the icon of modern Singapore. Of the various gardens within the Gardens by the Bay, the most iconic are the Supertree Grove, the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. The towering vertical gardens of the Supertree Grove are quite a sight during magic hour (twilight). The Flower Dome is a modern architectural triumph that houses, among other things, floral themes that change each year. The Cloud Forest is a cool oasis and educational experience on the vegetation found in tropical highlands.

Erratum: I previously indicated that the Botanic Gardens was established in 1822. That was incorrect. 1822 was the year the idea for a national garden began, and when Singapore's first botanical and experimental garden was established by Singapore's colonial founder, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, at Fort Canning. This said garden no longer exists. The Singapore Botanic Gardens was first established in 1859 by the Agri-Horticultural Society in Tanglin.

More Information

On BCSG 2017 - check out the Facebook page and BCSG webpage!

More on Singapore? In terms of geography, Singapore is in Southeast Asia - please look at a world map if you want to pinpoint her specific geographical location. For more on Singapore herself, the relatively comprehensive Wikipedia page seems to cover the key aspects.

If you're interested in Singapore's heritage and historic sites, Roots is a great website that not only showcases the rich architectural landscape of Singapore, but also shares the stories behind these places. There's also Your Singapore (now Visit Singapore) that points you to things to see and do in Singapore.

And there's more information about Singapore's gardens and parks on the National Library Board's HistorySG page, and on the National Parks webpage.