Tanghalang Maliksi bags Best Stage Play in 1st-ever SBMA GAD theatre fest 2022

Tanghalang Maliksi of Sta. Rita High School in Olongapo City was awarded  “Best Stage Play” during the recently concluded first-ever Anti-Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) Theatre Festival 2022 held here. 

Their entry entitled “Magda,” depicted various facets of violence against women and children in a musical stage play with Eraserhead songs in their repertoire. 

In her welcome speech, SBMA Gender Focal Point System (GFPS) Executive Committee Head Amethya Dela Llana challenged the stage actors to engage, not just in joining the contest, but also in spreading the word to the entire society, thru acting on stage, about the reality of violence that is happening to women and children everywhere. 

“Theatre Fest 2022 was conceptualized to amplify awareness through entertainment, involving the youth and exposing them early to issues surrounding women and children as we move towards our goal to have a VAW-free Philippines,” Dela Llana said.

Dela Llana also said that Theatre Fest 2022 is a project of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Gender and Development (GAD) and is part of the 18-day campaign to end violence against women with its theme, “UNiTEd for a VAW-free Philippines,” which kicked-off last November 25 and will end on December 12. 

Also participating in the Theatre Fest were Sta. Rita High School Artistic Repertory Theatrical Expression (ARTE) and Association of Barangay VAWC Officers of Olongapo City. 

ARTE, also comprised of students from Sta. Rita High School, staged “Iba’t-ibang Karanasan sa Iisang Mukha” and bagged 2^nd Best Stage Play. They also got Best Director award for Manuel Gabriel, and Best Actress award for Gweneth Ignacio. 

The Association of Barangay VAWC Officers was awarded 3^rdBest Stage Play for “Bumangon ka Juana, Laban Lang!” 

Apart from the Best Stage Play, Tanghalang Maliksi also got the Best Actor award for Chance Arpilleda, Best Production Design and Best Technical Design. 

Awardees received a trophy and a cash prize for each award. 

Meanwhile, SBMA GAD coordinator DJ Jepsz Eslava disclosed that the SBMA GAD activities in store for next year will be bigger and better.  

The Anti-VAWC Theatre Fest 2022 was in partnership between the SBMA, the SBMA GAD-Technical Working Group, SBMA GAD representatives, the SBMA Employee Welfare Multi-Purpose Cooperative, the SBMA Employees’ Association, 89.5 Subic Bay Radio, Association of Barangay VAWC Officers, Olongapo City, and the Rotary Club of Subic Pearl. (MPD-SBMA) 

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Subic Korean community reaches out with cultural show

The Korean community in this free port sought to foster closer relations with other residents in the Subic Bay area with a two-day cultural festival that stressed common musical and artistic traditions.

The event, dubbed as the Philippine-Korean Cultural Festival 2018 was held November 9 and 10 at the Harbor Point Ayala Mall here and showcased a bazaar, live performances, fashion show, cultural dances, and dancing and singing contests.

Easily the top crowd-drawer during the event was artist JinHo Bae, a South Korean pop singer who rose to fame after appearing on Philippine television on the show Mapuan Idol in 2014.

JinHo, who speaks Pilipino fluently, sang equally popular songs to the audience on the first night of the festival.

Other noted performances in the festival were from the Method Philharmonic Orchestra led by Youngchae Son, concert master Moon Sookyung, renowned singers Kim Eu Gene, Jung Jiyoung, Kim Sooah, Je Yeokyeong, and musical director Chun Gyoungho.

The Busan orchestra also played alongside the Gordon Heights High School rondalla ensemble from Olongapo city in an entertaining musical fusion.

Student-members from the local group played Filipino folk songs such as Leron Leron Sinta, Tinikling and Dandansoy, while cultural dancers performed folk dances.

Meanwhile, beautiful and colorful attires or Hanbok from South Korea by Korean fashion designer Yong Ae Kim highlighted the much-anticipated fashion show during the festival. Here, Korean models wowed the crowd with elaborate dresses designed for children to adults, and accessorized with colorful parasols.

The festival was also attended by some community leaders from Olongapo City, who hailed the event as a testament to the close ties between the Philippines and South Korea.

According to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), South Koreans make up one of the biggest foreign groups in the Subic Bay Freeport today, as the South Korean ship builder Hanjin remains the biggest investor and employer in Subic as well. (JRR/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:
[1-4] Korean artists perform, in some instances with a rondalla ensemble from Olongapo City, during the Philippine-Korean Cultural Festival 2018 on November 9 and 10 at the Subic Bay Freeport’s Harbor Point Mall. (MPD-SBMA)

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‘Summer Siren’ beach festival comes to Subic Freeport

One of the biggest and most exciting beach events this time of the year is coming over to the Subic Bay Freeport on May 12 to 14.

The Summer Siren Festival, touted by organizers as one of the country's most exciting destination festivals, will be held for the first time at Subic’s waterfront area and is expected to provide a whole new summer experience to visitors in this premier tourist mecca.

“This brings the Subic summer experience to a whole new level,” Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Administrator Wilma Eisma said as she announced the three-day event on Tuesday.

“Subic’s popular waterfront area will be transformed into a giant entertainment park with beach-music and arts theme, and we’re very much excited because this has been one of the entertainment concepts for Subic that we really like to push,” she added.

The festival was previously staged at beach venues in Zambales, but the SBMA and festival organizer Travel Factor signed a memorandum of agreement last week to bring it to the Freeport.

Eisma said the SBMA, along with the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC) and the Subic Bay Hotels, Attractions and Tourism Stakeholders Visitors Board (SBHATSVB), will sponsor the event.

Meanwhile, festival organizers have agreed with partner resorts in the area to put up a series of various themed pool parties, three days of art workshops and fitness activities by the shore, and two evening concerts featuring some of the country’s biggest rock, alternative and pop acts.

The featured artists will include Ron Poe, Quest, Ronthug, Ace Ramos, Borhuh, David Ardiente, DJ Highrise, Up Dharma Down, and Gab and John of Urbandub.

Eisma said the event will certainly push the already high number of visitors in the Subic Bay Freeport to record-breaking figures since the summer season is not over yet.

She also stressed that the SBMA will be implementing strict security measures to keep Summer Siren drug-free and safe for everybody.

“We don’t want drugs to proliferate in the event, just like what happened in another concert someplace,” Eisma added. She said that she has urged the organizers to cooperate and for the SBMA Law Enforcement Department to be vigilant.
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“Subic has previously been named by the Department of Tourism as the number one tourist destination in Central Luzon and we’re pushing for the Subic Freeport to retain this title. Summer Siren is really one ideal event that would push Subic’s tourism ranking even a notch higher,” Eisma added. (JRR/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO

SBMA Administrator and CEO Wilma T. Eisma (right) signs a memorandum of agreement with Cedric James Valera, managing partner of TF Adventure Travel Inc., for the holding of the Summer Siren 2017 in the Subic Bay Freeport. The three-day beach festival will be held along Subic’s Waterfront Road entertainment strip. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

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Rich cultural exchange between Filipinos and Koreans in Subic

“South Korea and the Philippines have a long history together. South Korea’s political, economic and cultural ties with the Philippines are stronger than before.”

This was the statement made by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction-Philippines President Jin Kyu Ahn during the opening ceremony of the Korean Cultural Festival at the Redondo shipbuilding facility on Wednesday.

With the theme: “Hi Korea Anneong ASEAN,” the Korea Cultural Festival is in line with the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the relationship between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The celebration is a precursor to the two-day Korea-ASEAN Summit that will take place on December 11 in Busan, South Korea.

Ahn said that the evolving partnership between the Philippines and South Korea rests on a foundation of shared values and interests. He added that the vessels made by the company are a testament of the two countries’ ingenuity and hardwork.

Director for Korean Cultural Center Hon. Chung-Suk Oh and other Korean diplomatic officials who came to the event were welcomed by some 25,000 shipbuilding workers at the Redondo facility.

The Filipino workers were treated to a Korean traditional dance, as five beautiful Korean performers dressed in Hanbok gracefully danced onstage. A ballet dance was also showcased in the event.

Other highlights of the night were a balancing act, a traditional drum exhibition and a band performance by Korean artists. (Jonas Reyes, Manila Bulletin)

PHOTO:
KOREAN HERITAGE – Dancers in colorful Korean Hanbok perform during the Korea Culture Festival at the Hanjin shipbuilding facility in Redondo Peninsula, Subic on Wednesday.

http://www.mb.com.ph/rich-cultural-exchange-between-filipinos-and-koreans-in-subic/

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NCCA awards five writers during Taboan 2014

Held in Subic Freeport Zone in February, the 2014 Taboan Literary Festival awarded five writers the coveted Writers’ Prize.

A biennial award given by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the prize included cash prizes and a one-year off from work to complete the manuscript.

This year’s awardees were Ariel Tabag (Novel, Ilokano language), Joselito Delos Reyes (Short Story, Filipino language), Hope Sabanpan-Yu (Essay, Cebuano language), Rafael Banzuela, Jr. (Poetry, Bikolano language) and Jeremy Alexandre Evardone (Drama, Waray language).

Taboan (a Visayan word for “marketplace) is organized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), through the National Committee on Literary Arts, for the National Arts Month every February.

Meet the winners

Tabag, fellow of the 2002 the University of the Philippines National Writers Workshop, has earned awards for his fiction and poetry in Ilokano and Filipino. His publications include Karapote (Curion) (2011, anthology of Ilokano short stories), Ay, Ni Reberen!(OMG, Reverend!) (2013, short novel), and Samtoy (2011, Filipino translation of Ilokano short stories). His novel Kabessat Ti Bagis won the novel category in Ilokano Language in the NCCA Writers’ Prize.

A fellow of the University of the Santo Tomas Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies, Delos Reyes was named 2013 Makata ng Taon, an award given by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino. His entry, “Kuma-Camanava: Mga Kwento sa Gawi Namin,” was awarded the Writers’ Prize for Short Story Category in Filipino Language.

Sabanpan-Yu, director of the Cebuano Studies Center, is author of four collections of poetry: “Paglaum” (2000), “Ang Tingog ni Maria” (2001), “Beads” (2002) and “Mga Dad-onon sa Biyahe” (2004). She won the Essay Category for the NCCA Writers’ Prize for her entry, “Naglangoy sa Langit.”

Meanwhile, Banzuela writes rawit-dawit (poetry) in Albay-Bikol to reflect on the Albayano values, attitudes, and introspection on his own stories and history perchance to excite some kind of pride of culture and time. NCCA awarded him the Writers’ Prize for his poem, “Dios Makina,” which is written in Bikolano.

A native of Palapag, Northern Samar, Evardone, a writer of poetry and fiction, won the NCCA Writers’ Prize for the Drama Category in Waray Language for his piece, “Epiko ni Sumuroy.” (Manila Times)

http://manilatimes.net/ncca-awards-five-writers-during-taboan-2014/79332/

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Country’s biggest literary fest set in Subic Freeport

Top literary writers from all over the country will converge in this free port on February 24-26 for “Taboan 2014,” the biggest literary festival in the country that will be held in line with the celebration of the National Arts Month (NAM).

Billed as “Wind and Waves, Wars and Words,” the three-day festival is a landmark project of the National Committee on Literary Arts of the National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA).

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto Garcia expressed gratitude to the NCCA for bringing to Subic Bay the biggest literary event in the country.

“This will not only showcase the beauty of Filipino literary arts, but also the well-preserved natural beauty of Subic Bay for all Filipino and foreign visitors to see,” Garcia said.

Festival director Dr. Juliet Mallari said that top literary writers and enthusiasts, as well as teachers and students from various regions, are expected to join forums, lectures, book fairs, literary readings, performances, arts and crafts exhibits, and cultural tours during the event.

Mallari noted that the festival will also serve as a venue to encourage local writers in Zambales to group themselves together and revive literature in the province.

“We can help them to form a group with the objective to revive literature in Zambales. And soon they could present stage plays, Zambaleña dances in events like this,” she said.

Meanwhile, NCCA chairman Felipe de Leon Jr. said that also in celebration of the NAM, the Philippine Arts Festival has taken the theme “Art on the Edge” to focus on the healing capacity of the arts.

He explained that art is some kind of power that heals the suffering of those affected by calamities—be they man-made or natural—such as those in the coastal communities in the Visayas that were recently hit by typhoon Yolanda.

“In Tacloban and other areas in Visayas, people have received very little help to survive each day. But by using art, like singing, dancing and others, as tool, we can help people ‘on the edge’ to recover from crises or calamities,” De Leon said.

He also noted that when arts of various forms were to be put in the same “boat” and nurtured, they could contribute to economic development by influencing the tourism industry in the area.

He noted that Zambales, for one, has much artistic and creative assets that can be turned into income- generating projects, boost the tourism industry and create jobs.

Among the products of creative arts here are the bows and arrows that native Aytas are selling, and the famous jungle survival demonstrations of the Aytas in the Subic Freeport Zone.

“PAF 2014 promises to be an exhilarating celebration of the arts with workshops, exhibitions, forums, performances, and many other events participated in by numerous artists,” de Leon said. (RAV/MPD-SBMA)

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Taboan 2014 to take place at Subic Freeport Zone

Top writers will once again gather in the country’s biggest literary festival, “Taboan,” at the Subic Freeport Zone on February 24-26 in line with the National Arts Month (NAM). This is organized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

Billed “Winds and Waves, Wars and Words,” the 2014 Taboan (a Visayan word meaning “marketplace”) is the landmark project of the National Committee on Literary Arts of NCCA's Subcommission on the Arts headed by Priscilla Macansantos for the Philippine Arts Festival (PAF). The festival director is Juliet Mallari.

This will gather writers, teachers and students for forums, lectures, a book fair, literary reading, performances, arts and crafts exhibits, cultural tours, other satellite projects, and an awards ceremony for outstanding writers from the regions.

The Philippines celebrates NAM during February since the signing of Presidential Proclamation 683 in 1991. As the country’s main agency for the arts and culture, the NCCA, headed by its chairman Felipe de Leon, Jr., leads in celebrating NAM with the Philippine Arts Festival.

For 2014, PAF has taken the theme "Art on the Edge,” highlighting the advancements achieved in different art forms, the innovations, the modern evolution of art, and the artistic creations in the peripheries.

Spearheaded by the NCCA’s Subcommission on the Arts, PAF consists of the flagship projects of the seven committees of the subcommission—architecture, cinema, dance, literature, music, theater, and the visual arts. It aims to highlight the artistic talent and brilliance of the Filipino people. Initially centering around the National Capital Region, PAF activities will be held all over the country in order to reach as many people as possible.

With private and government agencies as partners, PAF 2014 promises to be an exhilarating celebration of the arts with workshops, exhibitions, forums, performances, and many other events participated in by numerous artists. (NCCA-PAIO)

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