The Bacolod Yuhum Foundation (BYF) unveiled the official logo and theme song for the “Super City Bacolod MassKara 2023 Festival” set October 7 to 22 at a press presentation on Saturday, August 26.
It also announced the activities lined up for the 16-day festival and the names of the participating groups in the MassKara street dance and arena competition and the MassKara Electrika Diva float parade and competition.
The official logo with the tagline “Super City Bacolod” is in support of Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez’s vision that Bacolod makes it way to becoming a global city, BYF spokesperson Mate Espina said.
The logo for this year’s festival was designed by Bacolod graphic artist and director, Myish Endonila.
The vibrant colors in the plumes surrounding the smiling mask in the logo were inspired by the Negros Kingfishers, nine species of which are endemic to Negros Occidental.
The new MassKara Festival song entitled “Sinadya sa Bacolod” was created by musical director and arranger Marvin Querido of Neocolours, and performed by singer and actor Kyle Echarri, artist and social media influencer Janeena Chan and actor, singer, host and model Anthony Rosaldo. The MTV for the song was produced by G Production PH, the company owned by celebrity couple Sarah Geronimo and Matteo Guidecelli.
BIGGER PRIZES
There will be 10 participants in this year’s MassKara Street Dance and Arena Competition at the Paglaum Stadium on October 22 with a promise that it will even be bigger, brighter, better and bolder, Espina said.
The ten confirmed entries are barangays Granada, Sum-ag, Tangub, 34, Vista Alegre, Mansilingan, Cabug, 40, Handumanan and 21.
“While we want to see more participation, unfortunately, we have some barangays who were not able to fulfill their liquidation to both the foundation and the city that subsidized their participation last year,” she said.
Last year P500,000 was extended to each participating barangay as subsidy, P300,000 of which came from the foundation and P200,000 from the city government. This year it will be P750,000 for each participating barangay with the expectation that the performances will be grander, she added.
The ten entries in the MassKara Electrika Diva float parade and competition to be held at Megaworld’s The Upper East and the Bacolod City Government Center on October 21 are barangays 5, 32, 18, Felisa, 14, Bata, 19, 24, Singcang and 12.
“This year, we are bringing back the early days of the Electric MassKara ala Rio de Janeiro where we have electric divas dancing on top of the electric floats,” she said, adding that the subsidy for this event will be P300,000 per participating barangay.
There may also be corporate floats as some establishments have already signified their interest to join the Electric MassKara but they will not be part of the competition, Espina said.
FESTIVAL OFFICIALS
The chairperson and overall director of the festival is Jojie Dingcong.
Katherine Matiling, Bacolod Yuhum Foundation president, is co-director of the festival along with Kuster Cadagat and Jericho Redil, while Eli Francis Tajanlangit will serve as a consultant.
Cadagat, is also BYF secretary, and Redil is BYF treasurer in charge of finance for this year’s MassKara celebration.
6 FESTIVAL SITES
This year there will be six major festival sites – the Bacolod City Public Plaza, Bacolod City Government Center grounds, Megaworld’s The Upper East, the Old Bacolod Airport, SM City Bacolod and the Lacson Tourism Strip.
Big stars are expected at the festival’s opening salvo at the BCGC grounds on October 6, Espina.
FOOD FEST
There will be a MassKaNamit Food Exploration Festival at The Upper East in support of the mayor’s vision of building Bacolod as a major food destination in the country, Espina said.
The 3-day food fest from October 13-15 will showcase Bacolod cuisine and heirloom recipes.
This will be followed by the 1st Mayor Albee MassKanamit Culinary Showdown: The Rise of Bacolod Cuisine from October 17-19, at the Acacia Hotel.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Among the other activities set for this year’s festival are the Miss Bacolod MassKara coronation night at the University of St. La Salle on October 19, the 70-member Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra performance at the Main Atrium of SM City Bacolod on October 18, and the 2nd Mayor Albee Benitez MassKaralympics.*