Bacolod City gears up for 21-day MassKara Festival

President Rodrigo Duterte (center) was welcomed by Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia and wife Elsa as the guest of honor during the culmination of the MassKara Festival at the Bacolod Public Plaza in October last year. (PIA Negros Occidental file photo )

BACOLOD CITY — This year’s MassKara Festival will feature 21 days of revelry that will officially start on Oct. 8, with highlights scheduled on October 26-28.

The organizer, Silver MassKara Festival Organization, Inc., announced on Friday that the festival’s 39th edition will culminate on Oct. 28 in accordance with the ordinance setting the fourth Sunday of October as the permanent date of the highlights.

The MassKara becomes one long party to celebrate Bacolod’s 80th birthday, it added.

The main events will be held in the three festival sites — the Bacolod Public Plaza, Lacson Tourism Strip, and Bacolod City Government Center grounds.

The events line-up include the Grand Children’s Party, Nights of Mardi Gras, Tanda! Sing Na, Dance Pa, Magical MassKara, Drum Beating Contest, MassKara Fashion Show, MassKara Faces: The 1st MassKara Fantasy Make-up Competitions, Sadya ang MassKara with Mayor Bing National Fireworks Competition, Electric MassKara, and the much-anticipated Street and Arena Dance Competitions.

The Electric MassKara Performing Floats Competition will be held on Oct. 26-27, and the Street and Arena Dance Competition – School Category on October 27.

A total of 15 entries will join the Street and Arena Dance Competition – Barangay Category on October 28.

The Top 10 winners in the previous year’s contest are automatically qualified to join this year.

The remaining slots will come from the first five barangays to submit the complete requirements as of the deadline on Friday.

Silver MassKara will provide a uniform music for the Street Dance part while the participants will provide originally composed or remixed music for the Arena Dance presentation.

The Best in Original Music will be among the special awards. Others awarded last year were the Best in Mask, Best in Concept, Best in Costume, and Best in Choreography.
The MassKara Festival official website will be launched soon, the organizer said. (Nanette Guadalquiver/PNA)

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