Paskombalong time of the year again, baby! Expect the unexpected! (and also, the expected!) This year, the bar-b-q lines were longer than ever before...
...there was a surprise appearance by a full PBA Legends squad...
...the recycled-material parols (and the stories behind them) were cooler than ever...
...the i-push ang anak game remained strong...
...you could still count on the Fil-com to bring the colors and the culture...
...and on an unscheduled performance by Tina and/or Elvis that wasn't on the program
If they see their shadow, there'll be six-weeks more weeks of Fil-Christmas
Literally first day back from exams and I join right in DOT-Sydney's glitzy Philippine Business Mission 2019, an Australia-wide roadshow that links Philippine tourism spots and stakeholders with Aussie tour partners and providers. The event was capped by a gala dinner that embodied the Philippines' generous spirit, including goodie bags, Philippine liqueur giveaways, and even a private island raffle!
as well as a selfless sharing of the CarMin "wacky" module
Travel Guides is a popular Australian road-trip reality series that follows the hijinks of a bunch of Aussies as they travel around the world. This season, after extensive collaboration with our DOT office in Sydney and some advance consular work by the Consulate, the show swung by the Philippines and shot a whole episode in Bohol and Palawan. Fun and hilarity ensued.
(although, unfortunately, I haven't been able to personally see or document any of the branded trains yet; they run mostly underground on a line that I don't take to work so I can't just chance upon any of them -- unlike during the great Philippine cab and bus pokemon go-type spotting fun I had back in London)
(also, they launched the London campaign right outside the Embassy where I could readily step out and take this gem of a blog's iconic banner photo, whereas the Sydney ribbon-cutting was held across town from the Consulate at Bondi junction and I wasn't part of the program so I couldn't be part of the official photo-op)
(or could I?)
*grab photo*
ENHANCE
dammit Chloe, they're STILL on the wrong side of the road!!!
Oi, how time flies! It's already been a year since the last Philippine Pasko Festival in Sydney, and 2018's version is now upon us! Ang saya! Now I won't anymore get into the barriometric ratings of this year's festival - suffice it to say it still ticked all the boxes - and I'll just head straight into the highlight reel
(bago mahanap pa ako ng mga inaanak)
* the Pinoy avant garde dance group that kicked off the official ceremonies was 🔥
* a kid band with a three-song repertoire rocked out the morning program playing said three-song repertoire over and over and over...and it too was 🔥
* for the first time in the festival's history, they staged: a parol-making contest (made up of recycled materials); a Filipiniana fashion show (featuring "Golden" models); and a chorale competition (that literally made passers-by stop in their tracks and head to the stage and feel the birit)
* the lechon food stalls and their funny names came out in force
* and they all served well into the evening which was a good thing because that same night there was a concert at the adjoining theater by a band whose fans, shall we say, had a constant hankering for stuff to munch
* it's a Christmas tradition at this point: for the third year in a row, tributes just showed up, hung around and performed off-schedule.
* the LLDD-baby won a prize at a kiddie on-the-spot drawing contest and it had nothing to do with the fact that it was the Consulate that organized and staged the contest I swear
* ONE MAIN IDEAL and I inadvertently get into a "Who wore the modern Filipiniana Better?" face-off (shout out Anthill)
* and finally...I do my part in advancing Philippine-Australian-German Christmas relations
Huuwwaat?? The Consulate, the Trade Office and the Tourism Office are helping stage a 10-day Philippine Food Festival in Sydney, and the host hotel flew in chefs from their famous Manila branches for the event, and all they need from moi is to emcee the ribbon-cutting?! Well OF COURSE I'm there and I'll do it and I'll take the family and bring pang-take home tupperware and forget all about health and diet no regrets
Correction: we do regret wearing slim-fit clothes to a Pinoy buffet. We shot ourselves in the foot here
And oh what a spread it was! The hotel manager told us that the weekend dates were immediately fully booked and that the remaining weekday slots were going fast online. Our own eye test confirmed that the festival was a roaring success and enjoyed by throngs of Pinoys and non-Pinoys alike. There probably weren't enough gym memberships in the city to work off all the exponentially expanded waistlines of the lucky happy Sydneysiders.
puwedeng pabalot?
So, lifehack folks: instead of going to gym after a pinoy handa, just get your kid to walk in front of your burst belts until, oh I don't know, Christmas noche buena
They're here! I mean they're back! I mean they're back here in Australia after five years, and two years after I first saw them back in the Home Office! And by "they" I mean the ones who haven't grown up and graduated since the last time they were back, I mean here...
Whatever! It's just so cool that the Embassy, Consulate and Tourism Office got the Loboc Children's Choir to tour Australia right in time for Philippine Independence Month activities. Their Sydney-legs alone brought so much joy to so many: they made our office's elevator music better than your office's elevator music...
even their picture-picture was better than anything you've ever done
...they pleased the good people of Penrith
their hard knocks be better than Jay-Z
...they brought home the gold at Olympic Park...
dammit, national treasures shouldn't make me cry like that
...and they filled the hearts of the fam and the Fil-com at Blacktown
