85 Years of Ortigas & Co. and Greenhills Shopping Center Christmas On Display

I was one of the few people invited to see what Ortigas and Company has prepared for the public in the Greenhills Shopping Center district. I felt like a kid again watching the new episode as they do this whole show with life size mannequin puppets just to tell important stories of faith, proper manners, or something where kids would actually learn from for a couple of years already. It started in the defunct COD mall that existed in the 80's at the Cubao district (now Araneta Center) but went to Greenhills Shopping Center district a few years ago since it was just culture dictating it.

Ortigas and Company is also celebrating their 85th year and to start off the celebration, they coordinated with the city of San Juan, some nearby schools and a couple of day care centers to get kids to watch the show for FREE right at the mall's parking lot. In the past, we used to watch these shows along a busy street cordoned off so we could still watch from the sidelines, but Greenhills actually reserved a place to watch it all, a very nice gesture.

Present was Ortigas and Co. Executives, the Mayor of San Juan city and the actual kids from the neighborhood. They pressed the button to start the show. It was lively, pretty to see and the kids would be learning a thing or two about how not to judge others whether they're rich or poor, not of royal blood, and that kids are supposed to be kids as much as they should want to.

For those who want to watch the show and shop at the same time, they're already open everyday and will have replays of the show. Just be there from 6-8PM, I went to the Parking 1B market place also earlier and found some really cute toys for Christmas. I guess it's time to get those cute god sons and god daughters some of Ninong's presents. 

Thanks Ortigas and Company for having us during the launch! It was so cool!



KUMAGCOW
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A Song Of Praise Competition Year 5

I've covered last year's ASOP finals where people from the industry, professionals and amateur song writers pitted against each other to vie for a championship of a different kind, because only songs of praise are allowed and dedicated to the one above! The competition was made and founded by the same people behind UHF Channel UNTV particularly Brother Eli Soriano and everybody's Kuya Daniel Razon. They did it with good reasons and it's thrust is to dedicate these songs for the glory of God. The finalist have gone through grueling eliminations and the last 12 performed live at the Araneta Coliseum. I arrived a bit late but was shocked to have heard their guest performer, no less than world renowned girl group and Filipino pride 4th Impact!

Here are the performances, make sure you watch it til the end!

In the end they declared for the People's Choice Award Jonathan Sta Rita who composed Ikaw Lamang interpreted by Tim Pavino. They also awarded Best Interpreters : Jason Fernandez and had it tied with Bugoy Drilon whilst 3rd Runner Up went to Mula Sa Aking Puso tied with You Stood By Me. They also got 2nd Runner Up for my personal favorite Araw at Ulan and the 1st Runner Up to God Will Always Make A Way. The crowd favorite got placed Grand Champion with the song Kumapit Ka Lang.

Congratulations to all the winners! The one above will bless you more with what yoh have dedicated for him!

KUMAGCOW

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A Day With Mister Potato Purple Sweet Potato Crisps!

I'm starting the day with Purple love as Malaysian brand Mister Potato comes to the Philippines with their flagship product Mister Potato Purple Sweet Potato Crisps. They're already in 90 countries worldwide and this is the first time they're doing it in Manila and they're raring to give us a glimpse on how it feels to enjoy their other flavors that's been fondly loved by patrons at the Trinoma Activity Center today!

The sweet potato natural flavor was the best! I like how crisp and earthy it is plus it's not that salty. It's got a little bit of natural sweetness too, totally different from the potato variant.

The potato variants come in different flavors, this one is my best bet which is Hot and Spicy. If you're out drinking with friends, this would be so good with beer. Don't tell the kids I told you that. 

The Barbecue variant was a little smoky, not that intense which I think would be preferred by most people. I like this one too.

The Original flavor tastes a bit like the competitor but quite less salty. Now that's good news for snack addicts who don't want too much sodium in their diet. 

The Cheese flavor was also super good, I was already licking my fingers to get those cheese flavors that I wanted from it. Maybe you'll find this even better than that other potato chip in a can. 

This was okay, I tasted it but had to go away from it because I'm allergic to this flavor. (Weird I know), but for those who love things with the sour cream and onion taste, you'll get it greatly from here.

They also let us play at the mall's atrium, pretty fun way of getting acquainted with a new brand, that's not as expensive as the other one, but probably even better!

It was a nice purple day indeed! Now where's that can of purple sweet potatoes I was munching on earlier... oh it's already gone. LOL!

KUMAGCOW

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The Manila Staging of FUN HOME: Lea Salonga, Eric Kunze, Cris Villonco, Laurence Mossman

I was a little hesitant to actually sit down and interview the stars of this musical called "FUN HOME" which has already made waves in Broadway on it's first run and has also won countless awards, a Tony Award to say the least. Now it has already gone on it's first voyage internationally and where else but in the Philippines to stage it, with no less than the country's pride Lea Salonga as part of the cast. Fun Home talks about family relationships, coming of age, and coming out done in a few hours. It's a musical made by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori which they have adapted from Alison Bechdel's 2006 graphic memoir. We sat down with the lead star Cris Villonco and Laurence Mossman (who did 4 roles btw!) to get a glimpse of who they were trying to put forward. Alison Bechdel and her relationship with her father is pretty colorful, especially when she finds out some surprises in his sexuality too. Here's our interview with them on video:

Lea Salonga plays Helen Bechdel, pivotal to the very character of her daughter Alison. Lea says she's given Alison's character more reasons to come out, which made her stronger, decide on her own on how she would treat the family while going through the hardships of her relationships. They are also specifically asking for audiences not to bring their kids (PG13) so as not to be able to be confused on scenes on the musical about sexuality, some profanity that are expected to be heard in conversations. I guess that would probably deem normal, more so with Trump winning earlier. I kid.

Here's our interview with Lea Salonga and Eric Kunze. Both multi awarded actors, even if I was gasping for air sitting on the same table I could say they're amazing people to talk to. She also adds "I'm going to sing this AMAZING song and I'm so glad about it!"

As she mentioned, this is universal. We're all lucky we have understanding and supportive parents, but if you're put in a very awkward situation, or maybe a weird set of folks, it would probably be a pain to go through just like what Alison had to endure. I hope we Filipinos would come to learn and accept, not just tolerate whatever sexuality people may have. They have the capacity to love, be in a relationship and feel hurt, triumphant like we all do. Just give them the right to be human, that's probably what they all ask for in the first place and I think this is one avenue to explain things put in a grand ensemble like Fun Home.

This musical will be shown at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium at the 4th Floor, RCBC Plaza, Ayala Avenue corner Gil Puyat in Makati City. Tickets are now available through Ticketworld.com.ph and will have dates on November 10 up until the 27th, 2016. Show begins 8pm on Weekdays and two shows at 3pm and 8pm on Weekends.  They will only have 18 shows as this is on a limited run. Make sure you get those tickets early before it runs out! Again, no kids please!

For more information about their musical:

Fun Home

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http://www.atlantisproductionsinc.com/