• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
The opening salvo of this year’s MassKara Festival will be held on October 6 at the Bacolod City Government Center grounds.
The Bacolod Plaza, where the first festivities were held, will open from October 7 to 22. It is one of the six major festival sites of the 16 days of celebrating the Bacolod City MassKara Festival 2023.
The Bacolod City Government Center site will open from October 7 to 22, following the opening salvo.
The Upper East Megaworld will also be another major festival site, which will kick-off on the second weekend, starting from October 13 until the end of the festival. A major activity to be held in this site will be the MassKaNamit Food Exploration Festival from October 13 to 15 that will showcase truly Bacolod cuisine and heirloom recipes.
This will be followed by the 1st Mayor Albee MassKaNamit Culinary Showdown: The Rise of Bacolod Cuisine from Oct. 17 to 19 at the Acacia Hotel, which will involve several chefs, including Bacolod’s very own Chef Tom Bascon.
The Old Bacolod Airport will host events during the weekend of Oct. 13 to 15, and a new site will be the SM City Bacolod, which will have an array of activities as well, towards the highlights.
The last site for activities will be the Lacson Tourism Strip from Oct. 19 to 22, where the MassKara Cosmic Collaboration will be held.
Meanwhile, the key people to head this year’s MassKara Festival are Jojie Dingcong as over-all festival chairperson, Bacolod Yuhum Foundation president Katherine Matiling – co-festival director, BYF secretary Kuster Young Cadagat – in charge of cultural events which include the sectoral events, the Miss Bacolod MassKara pageant, and the MassKarade Ball.
The foundation also brought in Eli Tajanlangit as consultant and who has already introduced means to streamline activities and procurement to help BYF better manage this festival that he has been involved in past several editions.*
