MassKara Festival

Masks on sale in downtown Bacolod add to the festive mood of the MassKara Festival.*CGSamillano photo

Oh Bacolod! Everytime October comes, I would remember my hometown in Western Visayas. I miss my parents, my cats, my room and everything that has played an important role in my early childhood to teenage years. MassKara Festival is Bacolod's famous festival dubbed as a "celebration of life".

Repost from today's issue of the Visayan Daily Star.

'MassKara attracting more people'
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

The 28th MassKara Festival is expected to attract more people compared to previous years, festival director Eli Francis Tajanlangit said yesterday.

Tajanlangit said they have hit the daily 25,000 people foot traffic in the first week alone compared to about the same figures for the whole celebration last year.

"For a first week to hit a daily 25,000 people is something, meaning we are attracting more people now than we used to attract which shows that people love the MassKara Festival," he said.

Tajanlangit said if the trend continues, they will have a record breaking attendance to this year's festival.

He said this year's celebration will feature the first "Electric MassKara" along Lacson Street on Oct. 19.

Tajanlangit said they will be closing 5th Street to North Drive on Oct. 19 starting 2 p.m. The Electric MassKara parade is a dance parade that is smaller in number but with lighted dancers, he said. They have invited the Bayles de Luces dancers, one barangay contingent from Bacolod, and two other experimental groups to join the activity, he said.

Tajanlangit said they are requesting restaurants along Lacson Street to put up umbrella tables outside their establishments so people can eat "al fresco." They will install lights all over the place at night and there will be two major firework exhibitions to be sponsored by Chowking and Pepsi, he said.

On Oct. 20 they will again close Lacson Street starting 4 p.m. until nighttime for the MassKara Fantasy Costume Competition to be held starting 8 p.m, he added.

Tajanlangit said this is the launching pad of Mayor Evelio Leonardia's vision of turning Lacson Street into a tourism belt. He said the mayor is looking at Lacson Street beyond MassKara and that they might also put up something like this in the same area during the Western Visayas Tourism Assembly in November and also for Christmas.

There will also be three live concert stages along Lacson Street on Oct. 19 and 20, Tajanlangit said.

Rudy Reveche, MassKara street dancing committee chairman, said the barangay streetdance competition on Oct. 20 will be participated by about 29 barangays, while there will be 11 entries in the schools category on Oct. 18.

Meanwhile, Tajanlangit said the countdown to the Charter Day is on Oct. 18 and several Manila-based bands will be performing in four concert areas along Araneta Street.

Tajanlangit said that since Bacolod will be celebrating its 70th Charter Anniversary next year they have adopted the theme "Icons of Bacolod." He said "We are starting to focus on things about Bacolod so the festival also becomes an awareness campaign of the things we love about the city."

Tajanlangit said they are expecting the diplomatic corps, expats from Italy, Japan and the Middle East and many others to come for the MassKara Festival. He said this will be a star-studded activity with "Marimar" and "Sergio" having a mall show at SM City on Oct. 20.

Secretary to the Mayor Goldwyn Nifras said a group of showbiz personalities led by Cedric Carreon will compete against the Team Pacquiao in a basketball match on Oct. 19. Philippine ring icon Manny Pacquiao is also expected to arrive during the MassKara Festival, he said.*CGS