Category Archives: Events

Ortigas Art Festival

5 Exciting Reasons Why You Should Visit the 3rd Ortigas Art Festival

Featuring local and international artists, Ortigas Art Festival 2020 has quickly become a go-to event for all those who love the arts. In just three years, it has created ripples throughout the Philippine art scene and has managed to pique the interest of all art lovers.

Whether you’re a serious art collector or just someone who appreciates Filipino artistry, you’re bound to awed in by the vast number of art pieces to be shown, as well as the interesting line-up of artists to be featured at the exhibit. Watercolors, acrylics, sculptures…prepare for a feast of the senses.

Ortigas Art Festival
Here are five reasons why you definitely have to check out the festival:

1. Its curator is one of the most talented in the art industry
The pieces at the Ortigas Art Festival were especially chosen by Renato Habulan, resident curator of Eskinita Gallery. The multi-awarded Habulan has been a prominent and prolific social realist since the 1970s. His views are masterfully captured in his award-winning watercolors, non-representational art, and assemblages. With Habulan as curator, you can look forward to an exciting collection that will keep you mesmerized.

2. A captivating line-up of artists, galleries, and even bocetos
The festival showcases the works of contemporary artists that are definitely worth following, among them, international artists Arnel Agawin, Julio Austria, Jeho Bitancor,Gala Caki, Reynold dela Cruz, Michelle Dawson, Feliciano Gallardo, Processo Gelladuga, Katrinn Hamann, Sahid Kazi, Leonor RS Lim, Alfonso Medillo, Dengcoy Miel, Rey Padernilla, Made Palguna, Joel Soliven, Art Zamora, and Jose Zulueta. What’s more, works from three galleries will be featured – Eskinita Art Gallery, Kaida Contemporary Gallery, and vMeme Contemporary Art Gallery. For those want to appreciate the artists’ creative process, Papelismo Boceto showcases 300 artworks from over 100 artists.

3. Workshops by local and international artists
Budding artists can develop their skills at various workshops to be held during the festival. Seven workshops await artists of all skill levels. On Feb 29, there will be a Mixed Media demonstration by international artists Gala Cali, Sahid Kazi, and Katrinn Haman. On March 1, learn Multimedia from Michelle Dawson, Made Palguna, and Rey dela Cruz.

4. It’s an award-winning festival
The festival is definitely a top-notch sensory experience. The first Ortigas Art Festival won the Bronze Stevie for the International Business Awards 2019 – Communications or PR Campaign of the Year as well as a Bronze for the 2019 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, for its success in making art more accessible to ordinary people via Estancia’s immersive art rooms that allowed Filipinos to experience global art.

5. ADMISSION is FREE
#EscapeEstancia go ahead and get some inspiration or for a few minutes by dropping Get some inspiration or relax for a few minutes by dropping in.
The Ortigas Art Festival, which will be held at the newly-opened East Wing of Estancia at Capitol Commons, opens on February 28 and will run until March 8. Follow Estancia at Capitol Commons on Facebook and visit ortigasmalls.com for the latest info on upcoming events and activities.

prom

How To Ask for a Date to the Prom

Over time (probably with coaching from a few mothers), finding clever and catchy ways to ask someone to Prom has come to be known as a “Promposal.” Now considered the standard process, a Promposal can be done in many ways and can be as simple or as complicated as desired. It works great for girl’s choice as well. Here are a few basic ideas.

prom

Keep it Punny

The most frequently used method is to incorporate a pun into the mix. For example, along with a delivery of fresh donuts you could include a note saying, “I ‘donut’ want to go with anyone but you.” Or how about a bunch of balloons and ribbon with a big needle tied on – one balloon containing a note that says, “I wanted to POP the question – will you go to Prom with me?” With a never-ending supply of puns, the possibilities are endless.

A Sweet Treat

Nothing says you care about someone like chocolate. Candy bouquets come in a variety of different types and sizes and would be a welcome gift when accompanied by an invitation to Prom. With a variety of chocolate bars and candy, they are as welcome as flowers and twice as yummy. (And of course, you could always throw a pun in for good measure.)

Get a Clue

Setting up a treasure hunt or mystery to solve is a fun way to ask for a Prom date. Include any equipment needed along the way and set up fun rewards to mark progress. At the end of the hunt, you could simply leave a single rose with the question attached or go all out and be waiting in a tux to ask your special question in person.

Asking a Guy

You may choose to go with something less romantic and a bit less fussy if you are asking a guy (although you can never go wrong with the chocolate). Find a chain link fence he passes each day and pop colorful plastic cups into the holes to spell out the question. Make up a fake driving violation ticket and leave it in his windshield wiper. Upon closer inspection, he will see all fees waived if he goes to the dance with you. Toss him a new basketball in the hallway with the word PROM? written on it in marker.

There are as many other ways to go about it as there are people who want to ask someone. However you choose to do it, asking for a prom date can be an exciting proposition and can lead to a memorable date with a person you care about.

Cabaret

Preparing for a Life On The Stage

What does it take to put together a great performance, and to make a career of it? The honest answer is that it takes a lot. Making a career out of performing music and characters in front of live audiences isn’t an easy path; it takes years of training, along with hard work and dedication, plus a lot of originality and creativity. A quick glance at a listing of the shows offered in the New York city cabaret scene shows how varied and original the shows offered are. Despite all the hard work (and heartbreak) that is involved in having a career of live performance, the fact is that the passion involved is what keeps those amazing performers going. It’a also what keeps audiences coming back for more, and more.

Cabaret

Honing Those Stage Skills

People who choose to dedicate themselves to a life on the stage (along with film and television work) must study long and hard in order to have the needed skills. Voice training is an absolute must for people who want to enjoy a long stage career. A great vocal coach will form a bond with a dedicated student who really wants to develop the range and resonance of their voice. There are techniques that can be learned with vocal training classes and these techniques will help an actor or singer use their voice more fully and freely, in a way that is healthy. Once an actor/singer starts to work regularly, their technique is the factor that will carry them through and keep their voice strong and supple. Most actors who have had long careers credit their voice and acting coaches with giving them the skills that carried them through. Performing onstage in front of on audience is an exciting thing to do. No, this isn’t an easy career path to take, but it’s one that can be incredibly gratifying for those who succeed at it.

Starting Strong

Once you believe you have the right skills and techniques you need to begin looking for gigs, get ready to distribute your head shots. Look for an affordable studio that can offer you the head shots you would need to give out during auditions. Make time to practice as much as you can before booking auditions within your area, as well!

Good luck!

Happy Pampers Baby

My first Mother’s Day celebration with Pampers and FHMOMS

Filipina Homebased Moms (FHMOMS), a Facebook group dedicated to providing Pinay mothers in the Philippines the necessary information to flourish as home-based career moms, teamed up with Pampers last month to celebrate Mother’s Day. (I announced the event here.) What’s great about FHMOMS is that the group offers mommies training and support to help them have a successful job at home. Groups like this make it easy for me to show my support.

Here’s a picture of the event. We went to the function room at Mom and Tina’s bakery. (Food was good!)

Pampers FHMoms at Mom and Tina's

The event gathered FHMOMS members and bloggers together, sharing valuable information about topics such as healthy baby food options and homeschooling. There were topics meant to help work-from-home moms as well, teaching mommy attendees (myself included) how to turn passion into purpose, and how to know freelancing is right for them.

Pampers FHMoms

The event also showed us how awesome Pampers Baby Dry diapers are! We were actually given test kits that contained a thin sheet of gel crystals. These sheets are actually what’s inside every Baby Dry diaper.

Choose Pampers baby dry

After pouring 100ml of colored water, we were amazed to watch the crystals absorb the liquid within seconds and then fluff up.

gel layer pampers

We got to take home the same gel sheet, so I went ahead and cut mine open after it absorbed all the liquid I poured into it. I only found red and green food coloring at home, so I used green. Way better than using red, right? :D

Happy Pampers Baby

I also had given birth recently, so I gave the diapers a test run with my 11-day-old baby. As you can see, she’s sleeping soundly. Her dry bum makes her sleep well every day!

That’s my quick story about the FHMOMS, Pampers and my little Sunny. If you’re thinking about starting a family of your own and taking a break from the stressful commute in Manila, I urge you to come check FHMOMS out. :)

TravelBook PH Affiliate Anniversary Sponsors

Travelbook.ph celebrates its 1st Affiliate Program Anniversary

TravelBook.ph, the leading online travel agency (OTA) in the Philippines, concluded its affiliate program anniversary celebration “1st Year Cheer” on June 24, 2017 at Oakwood Premier Joy-Nostalg Center Manila in Ortigas Center, Pasig. The event recognized its 2,700 blogger affiliates and their contributions to the success of the program.

 TravelBook PH Affiliate Celebration

The event highlighted and celebrated the many firsts that the Affiliate Program has achieved on its first year. Present during the event is Affiliate 001 Awardee David Bernabe, owner of Crowd Travel and the very first affiliate to sign up for TravelBook.ph’s Affiliate Program. DIY Travel and Tours was also awarded for being the first affiliate to incur a completed booking through their website.

The awards and tokens of appreciation for the affiliates were presented by Ms. Pia Bernaldo and Ms. Toni Reyes of the Affiliate Team, along with Mr. Takumi Nakazawa, General Manager of TravelBook.ph.   TravelBook.ph also prepared an audio-visual presentation of their first blogger getaway, where 15 lucky bloggers won an all-expenses-paid trip to the lovely island of Caramoan in Camarines Sur. Two of the bloggers who attended the Caramoan getaway, Me-An Clemente of Yogo and Cream and event host Allan Bobis of The Filipino Rambler, received tokens of appreciation from TravelBook.ph and gift certificates from Trampoline Park.

The attendees also looked back on their first affiliate training, which took place last year. Dianne Rosqueta of Curly Dianne was invited on stage to share her experience and how much the affiliate trainings helped her in optimizing the content of her blog. Afterwards, Ms. Pia Bernaldo of the Affiliate Team expressed her gratitude to the attendees and discussed the future plans of the program for the affiliate bloggers.

Also present in the event is Charmaine Belza of The Project Maine and the first affiliate to withdraw commission earned through the program. She was also given a certificate and token of appreciation from GetGo PH and Novellino Wines.

During the event, Ms. Pinky Librada, Business Development Manager of TravelBook.ph, discussed the Affiliate Program’s new commission structure, wherein the affiliates can score up to 65% commission rates once accommodations have been booked through their websites.

All attendees received PHP 2,000 worth of TravelBook points as well as loot bags with freebies from PhotoBook Wordwide, Hideo Wakamatsu, Celeteque, Vivo Lumio, and Bo’s Coffee. Wines from Novellino Wines, backpack and trolley from Hideo Wakamatsu, Trampoline Park gift certificates, roundtrip tickets from Philtranco and Jam Liner Inc., roundtrip business class tickets from FastCat, and an overnight stay with breakfast for two at Oakwood Premier Joy-Nostalg were among the raffle prizes given away.

TravelBook PH Affiliate Anniversary Sponsors

If you want to be part of TravelBook.ph’s growing community of bloggers and page owners, register as an Affiliate at affiliate.travelbook.ph

 

Les Malheurs De Sophie

French Film Festival runs until June 17

Catch it before it’s gone! One of the country’s highly-anticipated film festivals, the French Film Festival showcases twelve (12) critically-acclaimed full-length films featuring the (French’s) charming culture. The film festival aims to immerse the local audience with the French’s unique storytelling of their culture. The 22nd French Film Festival started June 9 and will end June 17 at Greenbelt 3 and Bonifacio High Street cinemas.

VIEW SCREENING SCHEDULES HERE: Greenbelt 3 | Bonifacio High Street

Les Malheurs De Sophie

Included in this year’s French Film Festival are Géronimo, Le Dernier Diamant (The Last Diamond), L’Ombre Des Femmes (In the Shadow of Women), Jamais De La Vie (The Night Watchman), Les Chevaliers Blancs (The White Knights), Tour De France, Je Suis Un Soldat (I Am a Soldier), Un Château En Italie (A Castle in Italy), Nocturama, Le Malheurs De Sophie (Sophie’s Misfortunes), 21 Nuits Avec Pattie (21 Nights with Pattie) and Bastille Day.

Bastille Day

“21 is set during the height of summer, Caroline, a forty-year-old Parisian and mother, arrives in a small village in the south of France. She must hastily organize the funeral of her mother, a flighty lawyer, whom she barely used to see.Caroline is welcomed by Pattie, who likes to talk about her love affairs with the local men to anyone who’ll listen. While the whole valley gets ready for the traditional mid-summer dance, Caroline’s mother’s corpse mysteriously disappears.

As the French Embassy celebrates its 70th year anniversary of French-Philippine diplomatic relations, the festival also pays homage to Filipino films that have been selected at the Cannes Film Festival namely “Nakaw” by Noel Escondo and Arvin Belarmino; “Ma’Rosa” by Brillante Mendoza; “On the Job” by Erik Matti and “Anino” by Raymond Red.

For the first time ever, the festival dedicates one weekend for free public outdoor screenings at Circuit Lane, Hippodromo, Makati City on June 17 and 18. Catch films such as I am a Soldier, The Last Diamond, Tour De France, and A Castle in Italy.

Experience joie de vivre at Ayala Malls Cinemas’ Greenbelt 3 and Bonifacio High Street cinemas when the French Film Festival runs June 9 – 17, tickets are priced at P100. Check www.sureseats.com for the films’ schedules and advanced booking.

An Independence Day Weekend At ÄRT MÖD Fair 2017

The first ÄRT MÖD Fair 2017 has opened its doors on Independence Day weekend from 10 AM – 7 PM on Friday, June 9 to Sunday, June 11, 2017 at the Megatrade Hall 2, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City.

A host of established and upcoming visual artists showcase their best works that will surely delight audiences from serious collectors to first time buyers. A rare opportunity to grab modern art pieces from paintings and sculptures to mixed media and photography prints by Filipino artists such as Philipp Badon, Boysie Villavicencio, Ali Alejandro, Joe Datuin, Toym Imao, Michelline Syjuco, Ronnie Lim, Andy Malluche, Luna Arguelles, Alfred Gallura, Elaine Herbosa, Miguel Buhay, Pilar Quiros, JV Calanoc, Noemi Concepcion, Sky de Leon, Ralph William Villaluz, Emmanuel Mendoza, Allan Sison, Norlie Meimban, Maia Magpantay with the collections of William Borja and Myla Roque and participating galleries like Larc En Ciel; Arte Pintura; Transwing; Happy Art; Saturday Group headed by Buds Convocar; FDAP and FEATI University.

The 3-day event treated visitors to inspirational and informative talks and workshops by professional artists and educators like Inka Madera, Liz Lanuzo, John Paul “Lakan” Oliveros, Peter John Natividad and Toym Imao, conveying priceless insight and new ideas in their fields. Attendees were invited to take part in various demos; drawing and painting sessions; and learn Nude Sketching from professionals.

ÄRT MÖD Fair 2017 was produced and organized by ArtisteSpace with the invaluable support of its major sponsor, SM Megamall and Megatrade Hall; together with Faber-Castell, Art Nebula, Art in Island, Marz Today, Bacardi Martini, Casa Noble, Johnny Walker, and its media partners, Art+ Magazine, BusinessWorld Online, WhenInManila.com, TheNeighborhood.ph, Fringe Magazine, ABS-CBN News Channel, and prominent influencers of the blogosphere.

Visit the ÄRT MÖD Fair 2017 Facebook page (www.facebook.com/artmodfair) and at www.artmodfair.com.

PrisonBreak is on 2nd Avenue

Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller–along with the original cast–are back on the fifth installment of PrisonBreak. Set 7 years later, this 9-part series reveals that Michael Scofield is still alive, only this time assuming a controversial identity in a Yemeni prison.

While the first ep already aired on 2nd Avenue on April 5, you can still catch the remaining episodes every Wednesday via satellite at 3 PM and primetime at 9 PM. :)