I am very happy to share the recap of a successful first meet-up attempt for me as a Local Guide, inspired by so many great meet-up stories I’ve seen here 
Let me begin my story from the very beginning!
It was a sunny day and I was having lunch with a friend and fellow Local Guide Melissa, and sharing about my Connect Live experience as she mentioned her husband is making effort to leave more reviews in hopes of attaining a higher level as a Local Guide. I knew she is a passionate staff member of National Gallery museum and regularly hosts tour groups on a voluntary basis. So I had a crazy idea for a unique meet-up as I always wanted a meet-up to be both educational and social and hopefully have some priceless elements such as insider tours or people sharing stories etc. Knowing that the annual Light to Night Festival is coming up and since I have been to past few editions and really enjoyed it plus it’s free for all, it was perfect that Melissa is game to be our insider star guide to bring us through the museum and also the festival for a deeper experience, and I couldn’t be more thankful for her support and contribution!
Being the first meet-up that I would organise, I capped it at 15 participants max so as to give everyone a chance to hear my friend speak without it being too big a group. I was apprehensive about being able to reach 10 people at the start, but Melissa was really game and spread the word to her friends and fellow Local Guides, and suddenly we maxed out days before our actual event! On the day itself we had 13 people in total, which was an amazing feat to me, and thank you all who participated! Special mention to @JulienH (Level 10, Connect Live 2017 and 2018 attendee) and his wife Paddy for helping me with some tips before the meet-up and also sharing your Pixel 4 phone to help take amazing night shots for us!
Here’s the highlights of the night:
We started with dinner at 7pm at Courtyard Cafe in National Gallery as they serve local common Singaporean favourite dishes like laksa and curry chicken. It is a hidden gem with very reasonable prices as it is tucked away in a far corner of the museum and even locals like me did not know it existed until now! I definitely would recommend this cafe to friends in future!
After everyone’s filled up, we started the tour in National Gallery of Singapore, understanding the history of the building which was actually an old courthouse! We also learnt about the various artwork displayed in the permanent exhibitions, tried to give our own interpretations of the paintings, and understanding South-East Asian history through the exhibitions. We also found out that there’s a time capsule buried under the building, which will be opened in year 3000!
Finally we went on to the highlight of the tour: Light to Night Festival!
The festival grounds were massive, with many lit exhibitions set up outdoors for public to experience and interact with. We went through mazes, seen hanging lights, giant pool table and grand light shows projections on facades of buildings. There’s also plenty of food and drinks stalls pop-ups and outdoor seating, and luckily weather was perfect that night. We walked a lot through the key exhibits before ending the night at about 10pm.
Lastly, here’s our group photo! Kudos to all 13 of the participants who came and stayed through the entire journey! I hope to be able to organise such meet ups again for next year’s festival!
Here’s the photo album of the pictures taken