BACOLOD City – There will be six celebration sites for this year’s MassKara Festival from Oct. 1 to 23, according to festival organizer Bacolod Yuhum Foundation Inc. (BYFI).
These are the Bacolod City Public Plaza, Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC), Panaad Park and Stadium, Lacson Street, Baywalk Area, and the Megaworld-The Upper East.
Lawyer Pinky Ocampo, festival director and president of the BYFI, said visitors have different areas to go to during the festival.
Ocampo added that the Electric MassKara, as well as the arena and street dance competitions, will no longer be held in the previous venues — Lacson Street and the public plaza.
Instead, the Electric MassKara competition to be participated in by 13 barangays on Oct. 22 will parade from the Megaworld’s Upper East to the BCGC, where they will be performing, the festival director explained.
Ocampo further explained that the previous locations are easily crowded and they have a VIP coming, so as to not hamper the traffic.
Likewise, the street dance competition of the 17 competing barangays on Oct. 23 will start at corner Rizal-Locsin, passing through the streets of Gatuslao (beside public plaza), Gonzaga, and Araneta, then turning left going to the Paglaum Sports Complex, where the arena competition will be held, she said.
“We choose Paglaum because the grandstand there can accommodate around 5,000 people. The plaza does not have enough space and chairs so it’s hard for spectators see the performances,” Ocampo stressed.
Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, for his part, said the city government has closely coordinated with the foundation to put in place all the activities, ensuring that the MassKara Festival will be fully attended by visitors.
This year’s MassKara will be divided into three weeks: the first week will feature sporting events, the second week will feature a trade fair, and the third week will showcase cultural events and entertainment.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE, MTV LAUNCHED
Meanwhile, Ocampo, together with city councilor Jason Villarosa, chair of the committee on tourism, and Teresa Manalili, City Tourism Office head, led the launching of the official MassKara website and the MassKara music video at the BCGC yesterday.
The MassKara MTV special, entitled “Smile Again,” stars Asia’s Pop Heartthrob Darren Espanto and actress-singer Sue Ramirez, and will be broadcasted all over the city through a mobile van to drum up excitement for the festival.
Ocampo said the MTV will be one of the main features on the website and “we hope it will catch fire in social media and generate interest among Bacolodnons and Negrenses to participate in our festivities.”
The website will also feature official events that are included in the duration of the festival, including gastronomic and historical tours that the city of Bacolod and the province of Negros Occidental have to offer for both local and international tourists./PN
