A Day Out With Frankie, The Liang Court Mascot

Halloween Mascots at Liang Court

With Halloween around the corner, Liang Court has 2 new mascots to charm the daylights out of everyone. Meet Frankie the Frankenstein and Dracula Onigiri, possibly the 2 cutest mascots you’ll ever see!

Having always loved Halloween, I jumped at the opportunity to follow 2 of Liang Court’s mascots for the day, watching as they made new friends with young kids, posed gamely for photographs, and inadvertently made some children cry! 

Frankie and Dracula are Liang Court’s mascots for Halloween this season. As trick or treat sessions with Frankie and Dracula are happening at Liang Court on 11, 18, and 25th October, I joined them for a quick look to find out more about Frankie and Dracula.

My day started when I met Gabriel and Dan on the 5th floor of Liang Court. Gabriel wore the Frankie costume while Dan was Dracula. Excited for a full day of meeting kids, they had their suits on and were enthusiastically practicing their best poses and handshakes. 

Getting into the Lift

This sounds easy to us, but try getting into the lift with a full-bodied costume replete with an oversized head and you’ll understand Gabriel and Dan’s pain. Despite the lift doors being 1 meter wide, they had to turn and walk into the lift sideways. That was when I realized the sheer size of Frankie and Dracula’s heads. Imagine walking around with a head more than a meter wide when an average head is less than 30 cm wide!

Meeting the Trick or Treaters

In order to go trick or treating, we first had to meet the trick or treaters! These are kids who were preregistered at the Customer Service Counter on Level 2 and are limited to 10 slots per session. One adorable trick or treater came dressed as Superman while mini Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader were also present. A real diversity of characters! After phototaking, the trick or treating started proper, with a mini parade around Liang Court.

Trick or Treat!

We walked around Liang Court, giving out candies and taking pictures with customers and shopkeepers alike. Everyone was happy to see Frankie and Dracula! And with faces like that, who wouldn’t, right? Wrong. Some toddlers seemed fear-struck when faced with Frankie and Dracula, despite Frankie and Dracula’s best efforts to shake their hands or give them high fives. 

We moved through the first floor and the basement, making new friends along the way. We had to use the escalator and travellator to get around! Like the lift, it’s much easier for us to use the escalator and travellator than it is for Frankie and Dracula – they couldn’t see where the floor ended and where the escalator began! They need to be guided by their minders who will ensure that the mascots get to their destinations safely. The next time you see a mascot, look around and you’ll be sure to find their minder close by! Although the minders are largely “invisible”, they play an important role, effectively being the mascots’ eyes and ears.

We rounded up the trip with a visit to MindChamps, where we found more adorable children waiting for us. It was picture time again, and the mascots happily posed for more photos with the kids.

Lunch Break!

As much as Dan and Gabriel enjoyed the interaction with kids, they were glad when it was time to get out of their suits! Over lunch Dan and Gabriel shared about their experiences being mascots, revealing some strategies of dealing with meddlesome kids telling me that some suits have fans in them! We had a quick lunch before heading to our next destination: Suntec City! 

Oishii Japan 2014

Suntec City hosted Oishii Japan 2014 on 16-18 October, so Frankie and Dracula decided to pop in and surprise them with a guest appearance! Oishii Japan is an annual Japanese F&B tradeshow with over 266 exhibitors. With Liang Court being an official partner of Oishii Japan, Frankie and Dracula went over to lend their support and say hi! We had initial worries that Frankie and Dracula would have issues with congested areas at Oishii Japan, especially with the huge crowds there, but we had forgotten the famed Japanese courtesy. The crowd often gave way when we needed to pass, and many people were keen to take pictures with the mascots. There weren’t as many children here as there were at Liang Court, but who said Halloween was for kids only?

Final Thoughts

I never knew being a mascot was so interesting. Simple everyday obstacles faced by you and I aren’t as easily navigated by those people in mascot costumes. The people in the costumes are normal folk too – someone’s brother or son. I saw many instances of children and adults hitting the heads of the mascots with unnecessary force, thinking it was funny, but doing so can affect the real people in the mascot suits. 

Gabriel and Dan after a fun-filled day of being Dracula and Frankie!

The next time you come across one of Liang Court’s mascots, remember to handle them with love and care; give them a high five or a soothing pat on their furry coats!

The team that helped bring so much joy to people at Liang Court and Oishii Japan 2014

Liang court is located at 177 River Valley Road, Singapore 179030.

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This post was brought to you by Liang Court.