BACOLOD City – The MassKara Festival 2018 officially starts today.
The annual celebration, now on its 39th year, will commence with a program at the public plaza’s bandstand at 6 p.m.
Eli Francis Tajanlangit, director of the Silver MassKara Festival Organization (SMFO), said the opening program will focus on Bacolod’s 80 years of being a city.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia will lead the slicing of an anniversary cake. There will also be a fireworks display.
Councilor Em Ang said the 21-day festival is the “happiest season” in Bacolod – it being a “birthday party” for the city.
Ang also said in a press conference that she invited President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter Davao City mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to grace MassKara.
Tajanlangit said they have yet to receive confirmation from the two.
The SMFO has already released the schedule of events that lead to the festival’s three-day highlights on Oct. 26, 27 and 28.
There are still three festival sites – the public plaza, city hall and the Tourism Strip on Lacson Street.
Yesterday, more than 1,000 festival security personnel were deployed in Bacolod.
They compose half of the full security force for MassKara. More augmentation will be mobilized in the following weeks.
MassKara, a festival that celebrates the resilience of Bacolodnons, is expected to attract thousands of tourists in Negros Occidental’s capital city, its organizers said./PN
