Calling all kids and kids-at-heart!  Get ready for the gatherings of your favorite cartoon characters as they invade SM City Fairview this coming weekend, April 12, 2013.  Be there with the kids and let enjoy and have fun!

Event covered by Angelyn Demo

It was a Thursday Morning and thank God it wasn't raining. The day was just right for the event and for travel but as usual traffic has always been there that caused me to be late on the designated meeting place! Then were off to the festival.

It was the celebration of Las Piñas' 7th Water Lily Festival. A celebration that has become more popular every year because of the livelihood products produced out of Water Hyacinth led by the Managing Director of the the Villar Foundation, Cynthia Villar.


We arrived early but it seems that the celebration started much earlier. The festivity commenced already and people are in tune with the celebration. People were pretty eager to watch the pageant perhaps because of their bet candidates and of course most of them are really lovely. Many people were present during the festivity and the only thing that is not pleasant was the weather. Though it was not raining it made a not so good condition because it made us look tired and haggard because of that hot weather. Perhaps the heat also flared up because of the number of guests and participants present.

I did try to ask people around to know what they think of the celebration and one of the person I've interviewed was a “kagawad” (councilor) of the barangay. She said that they were lucky that projects like these were conceptualized and helped the communities a lot. After the interview she even introduced me to their barangay captain.


The Water Lily Festival was conceptualized in order to promote the water hyacinth-based livelihood products made by the residents of Las Piñas living along the river. Before these water lilies or water hyacints were treated as aquatic pests that clog the river but now are useful raw materials. Products made from these water lilies are baskets, trays, slippers and other functional and ornamental items.




The festival highlighted for this year the Miss Las Piñas Water Lily which was a pre-pageant that was held on Tuesday (July 17) and last Thursday (July 19) the winner was crowned as this year's Miss Las Piñas Water Lily. Since the water lily is the highlighted ingredient of this festival, gowns made of this material were created by known designers like Noli Hans and as well the barangay residents themeselves. Other highlights of the 7th Water Lily Festival are the fluvial parade, street dancing, musical performances from Manunugtog Kawayan and other local bands, water lily weaving demonstrations and of course, a display exhibit of various handicrafts made out of water lilies.


According to Mrs. Villar “We can do it if we want to”, she also explained that there are lots of improvements needed for next year's festival like the cheering squads should train hard and they were also planning to conceptualize a river cruise in Las Piñas. Mrs. Villar also mentioned that “cleaning a river is really a challenge and the Las Piñas was praised for cleaning the river.” It is indeed one of the good efforts that the Villar Foundation have done to Las Piñas and to its communities.

This festivity is really good in promoting local tourism and locally made products. Other places should also strive to do the same for the future generation. Just what Mrs. Villar said “we can do it if we want to”.

Do you want to visit this festivity next year? If you're planning to, just visit the Villar Foundation website to see the details of their programs and activities.

Music lovers if you didn't get a chance to watch the Philippine Popular Music Festival and wasn't able to know who won this encouraging songwriting competition, well some of our friends from there was able enough to provide us the list of songs, singers, and songwriters who made it in this prestigious competition.   So here it is, just read more and memorize the names and songs.

The million-peso champion of the first ever Philippine Popular Music Festival (or PhilPOP) has been crowned! Last Saturday, July 14, 2012, held at the Philippine International Convention Center, the grand prize honor went to former Akafellas member Karl Vincent Villuga and his song “Bawat Hakbang”. The composition was interpreted by Villuga along with his former groupmates and crooner Mark Bautista. Villuga said that the song was about overcoming personal crisis.

First runner-up position went to Soc Villanueva with his R&B song “Kontrabida” sung by Sam Concepcion. Toto Sarioso won the second runner-up prize for his composition “Tayo Tayo Lang” performed by former Sugarfree frontman Ebe Dancel.

None other our country’s prominent songwriter, musician and academic Mr. Ryan Cayabyab is the Executive Director of the competition. The first Philippine Popular Music Festival is a songwriting competition which “aims to celebrate the talent of Filipino songwriting and to glorify the contributions of songwriters and composers to the Filipino music industry.” The event is the brainchild of chairman Manny V. Pangilinan and organizing committee chairman Ricky Vargas’ desire to help revive the Philippine music industry.

All of the winning songs plus the rest of the 11 top notch entries were compiled into one must-have album “Philippine Popular Music Festival 2012”. Mr. Cayabyab remarked, ““The CD is wonderful.  Ang gaganda ng mga kanta! I have never heard anything so uniformly, highly musical in performance.  The arrangements themselves are excellent.  I believe there will be several hits that will be spawned by this collection.  I am thrilled by the fact that these new Pinoy songs are fresh, new sounds with new lyrical concepts, or even if they are not new concepts, the approach is definitely new and the performances of the interpreters are indeed gems!  Hindi pa man contest proper, panalo na tayong lahat.  This is a major collection and I am very proud to be a part of the Philippine Popular Music Festival.”

1. “3 AM” (Music & lyrics by Keiko Necessario, Interpreted by Marie Digby)
2. “Bawat Hakbang” (Music & lyrics by Karl Villuga, Interpreted by Mark Bautista, Karl Villuga & The Akafellas)
3. “Big Time” (Music & lyrics by Trina Belamide, Interpreted by Baihana)
4. “Brown” (Music & lyrics by James Leyte, Interpreted by Brownman Revival and James Leyte)
5. “Dulo Ng Dila” (Music & lyrics by Noah Zuñiga, Interpreted by Jay R and Deejay Poblete)
6. “Himig Ng Panahon” (Music & lyrics by Thyro Alfaro, Interpreted by Duncan Ramos, Luke Mijares, Loonie, Thyro & Yumi)
7. “Kesa” (Music & lyrics by Edwin Marollano, Interpreted by Daniel Gorospe)
8. “Kontrabida” (Music & lyrics by Soc Villanueva, Interpreted by Sam Concepcion)
9. “Minsa’y Isang Bansa” (Music & lyrics by Gary Granada, Interpreted by Gary Granada)
10. “Negastar” (Music & lyrics by Mike Villegas, Interpreted by Cathy Go)
11. “Piso” (Music & lyrics by Krist Melecio, Interpreted by Joey Ayala)
12. “Slowdancing” (Music & lyrics by Kennard Faraon, Interpreted by Nyoy Volante)
13. “Takusa” (Music & lyrics by Byron Ricamara, Interpreted by Rocksteddy)
14. “Tayo Tayo Lang” (Music & lyrics by Toto Sorioso, Interpreted by Ebe Dancel)

PhilPOP content can also be downloaded direct to your mobile. Just text PhilPOP to 3456 for Smart and Talk ‘N’ Text PhilPOP to 2346 for Sun. Standard rates apply. To download content online, visit MyMusicStore.com.ph or iTunes.

“Philippine Popular Music Festival 2012” album in stores nationwide, distributed by Ivory Music and Video.

PhilPOP is presented by Maynilad and Smart and it is co-presented by Meralco, PLDT, Resorts World Manila and TV5. It is sponsored by Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, NLEX, PICC and Sun Cellular as well as by the First Pacific Leadership Academy, KBP, Philex and media partners Inquirer, Ivory Music & Video, Philippine Star, Radio High and Radio Republic.

Excited with the upcoming PhilPop Music Festival? Well, if you are, these people are much more excited than you are. Here are what they say about this upcoming PhilPop Music Festival.



“The Philippine Popular Music Festival should offer what we all have been missing – a worthy venue to showcase the best and the brightest in OPM,” - Ely Buendia, songwriter/ musician


“Sobrang nakaka-excite ‘tong Philippine Popular Music Festival! More than a performer, a musician or anything else, I consider myself as a songwriter, and this makes it exciting for me…an event which will showcase the talent of my fellow Filipino songwriters. I honestly believe that this is what the music industry needs now: more original material. We have a deep bench of talented singers and musicians and we have to have a bigger pool of fresh new original songs to give them something new to sing. Revivals are okay but we need to come up with new songs to add to our piggy bank of classic Pinoy pop songs…and this Philippine Popular Music Festival will surely help our local music scene. Mabuhay ang original Pinoy music!,” - Chito Miranda, songwriter/performing and recording artist, Parokya ni Edgar

“It’s more fun in the Philippines! The 1st Philippine Popular Music Festival is an awaited competition that will draw the creativity of Filipino composers, old and new. This competition is a welcome endeavor to propel original Pilipino music to be known and recognized globally,” - Noel Cabangon, songwriter


“I'm so happy that a prestigious songwriting competition such as the Philippine Popular Music Festival is being launched! We in the OPM are supporting this show 100%! Mabuhay ang musikang Pilipino!,” - Ogie Alcasid, songwriter/multi-media artist/president of OPM

“Finally a song writing festival where both young and old songwriters can share their creation. This will truly inspire everyone and give a new, fresh and dynamic meaning to OPM,” - Louie Ocampo, songwriter/producer/music director

“I'm glad we're bringing back the SONG FESTIVAL. We need to encourage the young songwriters to write original music to express our own sentiments, tell our own story and re-awaken our natural gift for MELODY,” - Jose Mari Chan, songwriter/businessman

“A free people must sing and dance to its own songs. Let our soul be expressed through its original musical expressions. Mabuhay ang Philippine Popular Music Festival!,” - Jim Paredes, songwriter/artist/teacher

So music lovers better watch out for the Philippine Popular Music Festival!  Coming very soon!

I forgot when was the last time that there was a music festival showcasing the imaginative notes and flowery words of a songwriter.  I may not be a good songwriter but I definitely write quite a bit, it just need more practice and more learning.  Perhaps I do that before the deadline of the submission.

Anyway, so much with reminiscing.  If you know what I am writing about, well, good because the competition for songwriter will be starting very soon.  Amateur and professional Filipino composer will have a chance to prove that Original Pilipino Music are still alive and kicking all it needs is venue like this, the Philippine Popular Music Festival.

To know more about the Philippine Popular Music Festival or PhilPop read the details of the press release below...


There are competitions for aspiring singers, dancers, actors, models, bands, chefs, even children wanting to be chefs but what about for songwriters?

With a local music scene widely dominated by imported music, the Filipino songwriter has become a stranger in his own land.


With this in mind, prominent names from various industries have come together to spearhead the creation of the Philippine Popular Music Festival.

PhilPOP is a songwriting competition open to all amateur and professional Filipino composers. By March 1, 2012, interested composers can start submitting their entries online at PhilPOP.com.ph. The deadline of submission is on May 10, 2012. Song entries must be in MP3 format and can be in any popular music genre or a fusion of known genres, in any form or structure. Each entry must not exceed four minutes. Contestants can submit a maximum of two songs, either as a sole composer or as a collaborator. Song lyrics may be in Filipino, English, any Filipino dialect or a combination thereof.


There will be three levels of screenings and during the semi-finals, the judges will choose the top 14 finalists. The final performance and competition night will be held on July 14, 2012 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). The grand prize winner will receive P1 million in cash and a trophy. The second and third runners up will each receive a trophy and P500,000 and P250,000 in cash respectively. All non-winning finalists will receive P50,000. A People’s Choice award will also be given to the entry with the most number of online and text votes. The winner will receive P200,000 and a trophy.


The competition hopes to provide a channel through which Filipino songwriters can create new songs and discover new expressions or genres in popular music. The organizers of PhilPOP also hope to start spark renewed enthusiasm and pride in Filipino music by starting a brand new collection of freshly produced Original Pilipino Music (OPM).

“Filipinos, in general, are musically gifted,” music maestro and PhilPOP executive director Ryan Cayabyab said. “We are well-known the world over simply because of our immense talent. But we are not just a country of talented singers, dancers and actors. With PhilPOP, I also want to shine the spotlight on our world-class composers and songwriters,” he added. The renowned musician also noted that this songwriting event is not a “revival” of another popular songwriting competition in the past decade.


Maynilad president and chief executive Ricky Vargas, who is also the event’s organizing committee chairman, further noted the significance of PhilPOP. “It’s high time we celebrate the artistry of the Filipino songwriter. What better way to do that than by giving them an avenue to showcase home grown talent and shine on a stage of their own.”

Meanwhile, business icon and PhilPOP chairman, Manny Pangilinan, also shared his motivation for lending support to the competition. “There are two reasons why I'm back in the Philippines after living in Hong Kong for so many years. I miss our religion and our music. You hear God’s voice in music,” he said.

The Philippine Popular Music Festival is jointly presented by Maynilad, Meralco, PLDT, Smart Communications, Sun Cellular, PICC, TV5, DDB Philippines and official press launch food provider, Via Mare.

As part of the celebration of the Chinese New Year, SM City North EDSA is showcasing the different Chinese Street Foods at their Sky Garden area.  Making every customers, passersby, and guests crave for those yummy and delicious foods.

The Chinese Street Food Festival has started last January 17 and it will end on 23.   So, if you're planning to have some food tripping this long weekend better get your friends or families and run to SM City North EDSA Sky Garden for that yummy and tasting experience.

To better get you more enthusiastic in getting there here's a sample of what you could expect at the Chinese Street Food Festival.  Below are some of the pics from the Chicken Deli stall participated in the said festival.  Aside from there are lots of other food stalls that offers tasty Chinese street foods.  Well, our correspondent Jefferson was lucky enough to experience that crave quenching and tummy filling event.


Chicken Deli is one of their stop over.  Chicken Deli provides a variety of chicken dishes for their consumers.  One of their best selling is the Chicken Inasal which was really known in Bacolod and was really a hit for the masses.  They also offers chicken barbeques and also they have this Special Batchoy.

Image courtesy of Aylin

Govby's Food Stall... not really familiar with this food stall but they are offering different tummy fillers.  Some of their hunger quenching foods are the Hong Kong Noodles which I think are fried noodles, mini siopaos, and some shabu-shabu.

Image courtesy of Aylin

Image courtesy of Aylin

My Red Basket offers a delightful list of pork and shrimp siomai, beef siomai and also marcon and siopao.  Some of the typical Chinese food that can be seen around in Chinese streets.

Image courtesy of Aylin

Siomai House is also one of those known siomai seller in the country and believe me their siomai is a hit.

Photo courtesy of Aylin

Photo courtesy of Azrael.

Better head on now to SM City North EDSA!

A few more weeks to go, Chinese-Filipino Communities will be celebrating the Chinese New Year and as part of the celebration the Ateneo De Manila University Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies, Shangri-La Plaza and Ateneo-Celadon will be presenting its 6th Spring Film Festival featuring 6 different movies.


Films to be shown are Ocean Heaven, Confucius, Bodyguards and Assassins, Lost on Journey, Country Wedding and King of Mi-lu Deer. The screening will happen on January 20-29,2012 at the Shangri-la Plaza Mall, Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City.  Take note all these six movies are to be enjoyed for free.  

Ocean Heaven
Description: Drama
Length: 100 minutes
Origin: Hongkong China, 2010 Release Date
Language: Mandarin, with English Subtitles
Cast: Jet Li, Wen Zhang


Confucius
Description: Biographical Drama
Length: 120 minutes
Origin: China, January 2010 Release Date
Language: Mandarin, with English Subtitles
Cast: Chow Yun Fat, Zhou Xun,Chen Jianbin
Directed by: Hu Mei


Bodyguards and Assassins
Description: Action Historical Film
Length: 135 minutes
Origin: Hongkong China, 2009 Release Date
Language: Mandarin, with English Subtitles
Cast: Wang Xueqi, Hu Jun, Donnie Yen, Nicholas Tse, Tony Leung
Directed by: Teddy Chan


Lost on Journey
Description: Comedy, Drama
Length: 95 minutes
Origin: China, 2010 Release Date
Language: Mandarin, with English Subtitles
Cast: Wang Baoqiang,Xu Zheng, Li Man


Country Wedding
Description: Comedy
Length: 90 minutes
Origin: China
Language: Mandarin, with English Subtitles
Cast: Zhi Jun, Ding Jiali, Yang Lixin, Xie Yuan


King of Milu Deer
Description: 3D Animation, Fantasy
Length: 90 minutes
Origin: China, 2009 Release Date
Language: Mandarin, with English Subtitles

To know more about the movies just visit the Spring Film Festival 2012 page.