WHAT IS MASSKARA FESTIVAL & SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES FOR 2015

What is Masskara Festival? 

Masskara Festival according to wikipedia  Hiligaynon: Pista sang MassKara, is a festival held each year in Bacolod, Philippines, every third weekend of October nearest October 19, the city's Chapter anniversary. 

HISTORY

The festival first began in 1980 during a period of crisis. The province relied on sugar cane as its primary agricultural crop, and the price of sugar was at an all-time low due to the introduction of sugar substitutes like high fructose (corn syrup) in the United States. This was the first Masskara Festival and a time of tragedy; on April 22 of that year, the inter-island vessel MV Don Juan carrying many Negrenses, including those belonging to prominent families in Bacolod City, collided with the tanker Tacloban City and sank. An estimated 700 lives were lost in the tragedy.

In the midst of these tragic events, the city's artists, local government and civic groups decided to hold a festival of smiles, because the city at that time was also known as the City of Smiles. They reasoned that a festival was also a good opportunity to pull the residents out of the pervasive gloomy atmosphere. The initial festival was therefore, a declaration by the people of the city that no matter how tough and bad the times were, Bacolod City is going to pull through, survive, and in the end, triumph.

THE MASK

The Masks in the History of the festival is constantly changing from masks influenced by native Filipinos which slowly was then influenced by Carnival of Venice and Rio Carnival motifs. Earlier Masks had feathers, native beads, and masks were hand painted while modern masks feature plastic beads, plastic.

EVENT

The festival features a street dance competition where people from all walks of life troop to the streets to see colorfully masked dancers gyrating to the rhythm of Latin musical beats in a display of mastery, gaiety, coordination and stamina. Major activities include the MassKara Queen beauty pageant, carnivals, drum and bugle corps competitions, food festivals, sports events, musical concerts, agriculture-trade fairs, garden shows, and other special events organized ad-hoc every year.

STREET DANCING

The Street Dancing is divided into two categories; the schools division and the barangays, the latter is considered as the highlight of the street dancing competition.

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES 2015

• October 16, 2015 (Friday) - MassKara  Love Dance
• October 17, 2015 (Saturday) - MassKara Street Dancing (Barangay Category) and Charter Day Countdown
• October 18, 2015 (Sunday) - Electric MassKara

             Gonzaga - Araneta Street, Bacolod City, afternoon of 26 day of September 2015

Source from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MassKara_Festival