By Sarwell Meniano/PNA
TACLOBAN CITY — A group of young entrepreneurs will again stage the “For the Love of Leyte” music festival to celebrate the province’s “rebirth” after the devastation left by Super Typhoon Yolanda five years ago.
Organizers expect to gather 2,500 participants from different parts of the country and even abroad as part of its effort to promote Leyte’s creative industries and rural artisans.
The three-day, two-night music festival will be held at The Farm in Ginsiyaman, a farm resort in San Miguel, Leyte, a 45-minute drive from this city, from Nov. 30 to December 1.
The event was inspired by Woodstock, a music festival held on a dairy farm in the Catskill Mountains, northwest of New York City, which attracted an audience of more than 400,000 in 1969.
It will feature two stages for the musical bands, a pop-up market showcasing the best arts and crafts from the region and around the country, art grounds, and on-site camping.
“We want to hold a festival in a non-traditional venue for millennials and help them build experiences that they want to talk about in social media,” festival co-founder and organizer Kay Veloso Palisoc said in an interview Friday.
It will be an immersive two-day program of music, arts, and other cultural workshops, she said.
“Music is the theme because it brings people together. It is about camping, but more importantly, it is about forming friendship and relationship and building new sets of memories that are not your typical tourists experience.
It’s really the coming together of different people from different walks of life,” Palisoc said.
Patrick Steven Buena of the Department of Tourism (DOT) regional office said the DOT and Tourism Promotions Board support the event, as it champions sustainable tourism and development.
“We are opening local talents to Manila-based market and even the international market. The event complements our effort to promote Eastern Visayas as an event destination. I can still recall that after the first event, everyone was asking when would be the next festival,” Buena said.
Organizers held the first “For the Love of Leyte” music festival in 2015 as part of a send-off ceremony for the responders, who came to help in the recovery efforts after the super typhoon.
The musical lineup has Ben & Ben, Kiko Bun (UK), Bullet Dumas, The Itchyworms, Babani Records (Mauritius), Reese Lansangan, Ang Bandang Shirley, Hernandez Brothers, Conscious & The Goodness, La Loba Negra, Free the Robots (US), Irie Sunday, Lunas, Rob Mananquil, Tom’s Story, The 76 Receipts, KulaHig, LSR, Aurora, Maroon & Gold, Lady Suzette, Succubus, KRNK, Specs, The Guerillas, Digital Danboi (UK), Bruder, and Tom Turner, among others.
