More than 1,500 attendees turned out at Urban Park @ Guoco Tower over the weekend for Canon Singapore‘s “Your Canon Event”, a maker festival marking the 20th edition of the Canon PhotoMarathon and the debut of a video storytelling competition alongside hands-on creative workshops.

The festival paired the long-running photography contest with an inaugural video category, community-led activities spanning botany, tabletop gaming and miniature model painting, and an experiential play zone built around Canon’s compact EOS/PowerShot V series cameras.

A milestone edition for Canon PhotoMarathon

“With ‘Your Canon Event’, we set out to redefine what a modern maker festival could look like, and reflect how creators engage with imaging today,” said Too Kok Yong, Head of Singapore Operations Group at Canon Singapore. He added that the event aimed to create a collaborative space for the country’s creator communities to celebrate their passions in the spirit of kyosei, the company’s philosophy of living and working together for the common good.

The PhotoMarathon challenged participants to capture visual stories to set themes and time limits, with entries assessed by a panel of six judges, including three for the new video category. Dylan Chia, known as The Sticker Guy from DCHTOONS and one of the video judges, said the winning film in the Open Category stood out for linking the kyosei theme back to nature before connecting it to people.

“Winning Canon PhotoMarathon for the third time is something I didn’t expect, especially after spending the day shooting in the rain,” said Open Category winner Mohd Safuan bin Salahudin, who said he focused on capturing expression in an unconventional way rather than a literal human interpretation of the competition’s theme.

Youth participation and a long-running social partnership

Organisers highlighted strong turnout in the Youth Category, open to creators aged 25 and under, with a dedicated video segment on kyosei asking younger participants to document stories of community, sustainability and social harmony.

APSN, a social service agency supporting individuals with mild intellectual disability, also took part, continuing a partnership with Canon Singapore that began in 2006. The collaboration includes technical workshops, loaned imaging equipment and guided photo outings led by Canon Singapore staff volunteers.

Festival built around the EOS/PowerShot V series

Beyond the competition, the festival grounds featured a full programme of hands-on stations designed to show how Canon’s imaging technology fits into everyday hobbies. Local plant design studio Soilboy ran workshops combining plant styling with macro photography, while a separate zone let hobbyists test the macro capabilities of Canon’s cameras through miniature painting.

Canon also introduced limited-edition trading cards featuring five EOS/PowerShot V series characters, collected by completing tasks across festival stations. Attendees who completed a full set were entered into a draw for a PowerShot G7 X Mark III.