The Royal Selangor Jazz Festival was a full day out, filled with family-friendly activities catering to all ages, with tunes being played live by 19 bands, on 4 stages that were spread across the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre.
Live performances
The teen had been accepted as a volunteer for the event as part of crew, and so it was just the big man and myself, left to our own devices. We kicked off bright and early at 9.30am to register, and to get our wristbands. We did a sweep round the entire place to familiarise ourselves with the layout so that we knew where to head to, to catch the acts.
It was wonderful that the bands didn’t clash in terms of performances and timing, and ranged from giants to newbies in the industry. I simply love the fact that newbies were given a chance to play (not along, but on the same platform) as the big acts. What a wonderful way to discover, and celebrate new bands and talents. Also, there is nothing like listening to a live band – it just gets you up on your feet!
Family friendly activities
On top of the mini sets by the bands throughout the day, there was a Kids’ Zone which had colouring pages to occupy the little ones, and a Fun Zone with a graffiti wall on one side and a sticker wall on the opposite.
School of Hard Knocks, and The Foundry at The Royal Selangor Visitor Centre ran special deals just for the Royal Selangor Jazz Festival. At the School of Hard Knocks, there was the additional option of colouring your own bowl, which is not usually available. We didn’t go hammering as the then kid, had already done this. Although, during these teenage years, perhaps I should’ve done it. It must be therapeutic to hammer away all your frustrations, with all your might, when you have a teenager at home!
At The Foundry, it was a ‘Buy 1, Free 1’ deal to make your own pewter pieces in conjunction with the Royal Selangor Jazz Festival. As it was the Royal Selangor Jazz Festival, there were moulds in the shape of musical instruments (alas, no trumpets(!), but purely for my own selfish reasons as this is the teen’s instrument) and were super-duper cute!
The teen took a mini break from his duties to kick-start the first step but then the big man had to take over as duty called, as the process takes up to an hour from start to finish. We were guided by Martin, and Ming and they were both clear in their instructions and approachable. As Martin mentioned, mistakes at this workshop do not go to waste as the hardened pewter is just chucked back into the pot to be remelted again. Yay to zero waste!
The Factory Tour of the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre also runs throughout the day until early evening. If you’ve never done this tour, I highly recommend you do. You get to watch the artisans at work, at pewter crafting, from start to finish.
There’s also the Museum and Science Discovery Gallery which is wonderful for both young and old alike.
Variety of F&B options
There were food trucks which were serving up burgers, Mexican cuisine, pizzas, and even local options, along with coffee (but first, coffee!). Then the big man and I saw the Milo truck!! If you were a public school kid back in the day, the Milo truck was always present at school sports days and fairs, and was always swamped. Needless to say, we made a beeline for the truck as we couldn’t believe our luck!
There’s also the The Café inside Royal Selangor Visitor Centre, which was open throughout the day and serves up sandwiches, roast chicken, and even pastas. Then there’s the pop-up bar which rounded up the eats options for Royal Selangor Jazz Festival really nicely.
Multiple entries and easy parking
If the idea of having to spend an entire day, from 10am to 11pm out, puts you off, don’t worry – the wristband allows you multiple re-entries, so that you can come and go as you like. I’m going to put it out there that we certainly made use of this. We snuck home, took a nap and then headed back for the evening, which is the only way I do full day outings of late!
If you’re worried about parking, don’t be either. There were ample parking spaces no matter the time of day.
Tips for the next Royal Selangor Jazz Festival
Follow their IG for early bird tickets at discounted rates, as well as for information pertaining to the line-up, activities, and lay-out of the Royal Selangor Jazz Festival.
Bring along portable camping chairs as there are limited seats (some stages don’t have seats at all). There was a family who had brought their own, and I looked on with envy as they sat back comfortably and enjoyed the shows!
Wear comfortable clothing, and shoes. That Sunday, it was overcast and we had a nice breeze throughout but I can imagine that it could get quite hot if the sun was blazing. Although, all you have to do is pop into the building and you’ll chill in no time at all – the a/c is super strong. As for shoes, well, not only would you be standing quite a bit (if you don’t have your own chairs) but you’d be moving from one end to the other to catch the acts throughout the day.
Overall, I thought that the event was well-planned out and included everyone in the family. In fact, I saw quite a number of families there with their little ones in prams, while the parents sat back and enjoyed the tunes. Now, that’s how parenting should be done!
I’m already looking forward to next year’s Royal Selangor Jazz Festival – and you should too!
