Bacolod City once again beckons you to the “happiest festival in the Philippines”, Masskara Festival 2014. A month-long celebration with concerts, food fests, street parties, and a lot of activities will draw thousands of visitors to the City of Smiles. But of course, the highlight would the the street dancing competition where participants wear colorful costumes, masks and headdresses, and dance to Latin music.
MassKara Festival was conceptualized in order to encourage the Bacolodnons to overcome the challenges they face such as the sugar crisis in the 1980s and the tragic sinking of Don Juan. A lot of people in the sugar industry are worried of the coming ASEAN Economic integration. Will Bacolod once again experience the sugar crisis of the 1980s? There’s a lot of questions in the mind of the people but one thing’s for sure, Bacolodnons have overcome the crisis before they will triumph over any crisis they will encounter in the future. This year, a multitude of smiling faces will celebrate the MassKara Festival 2014 with the theme Once Rhythm, One Bacolod, A Million Smiles.
MassKara Festival Events
The main event of MassKara Festival is the street dancing competition where dancers don colorful costumes and masks and move to the rhythm of Latin music.
In addition to the MassKara street dancing competition, Electric MassKara is another most awaited event. This is also a street dancing competition but dancers wore masks with colorful lights and this is done at night.
Other major events are 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 every year.
What’s New with MassKara 2014
Bacolod City has more reasons to smile because SMX Bacolod Convention Center will also open with MassKara City Bacolod Trade Expo and Conference 2014 n October 17-19, 2014. MassKara City will have three major areas, the Business District, Plaza, and Market. The Business District will have beauty and health, real estate, hotels, restaurants, and other business exhibitors. The Plaza will showcase MassKara dance performances, MassKara museum and gift shops. The Market will feature local products such as souvenirs, food, and arts and crafts.
MassKara Festival 2014 Schedule of Activities
Check the schedule of activities below for the highlights and other events which might interest you.
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Below is the detailed MassKara Festival Schedule which you can download.
MassKara 2014 Schedule of Activities
MassKara Traffic Route
Major roads during the MassKara Festival highlights are closed to facilitate the flow of participants and visitors. The public and motorists are advised to take note of the traffic and road closures to avoid confusion.
How to Prepare For Your Trip to Bacolod City for the MassKara Festival
- Read on the different aspects of life in Bacolod – the food, culture and history as well as the must-visit sites. Choosing the right places to visit saves you a lot of time. Don’t be a tourist, be one with the locals and familiarize with the local culture so you get to enjoy Bacolod in all its different facets.
- Book your tickets and hotel rooms in advance as every accommodation from hotels to the pension houses is sure to be full. Bacolod City is only 50 minutes by plane form Metro Manila. Bacolod is also accessible by sea and RORO vessels. From Bacolod-Silay Airport, you can take a shuttle (P150 per head), or a taxi and ask to be dropped off to your hotel.
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1. Alternative Flight. If direct flights from Manila to Bacolod are no longer available, or if they are already too expensive, consider taking the flight to Iloilo City. You can get to Bacolod from Iloilo in one hour through a fast craft.
2. Alternative Accommodations. Hotels and Pension Houses are usually booked months before October so if you are looking for alternative accommodations, you can try at hotels, pension houses and resorts in nearby cities of Talisay, Silay, and Bago.
Going Around Bacolod City During MassKara Festival
Going around Bacolod City is easy since there are various jeepney routes plying around Bacolod with minimum fare of P7.50 per head. There are also tricycles and pedicabs for short distances with P10 per fare per head. If you are going to rent, then you have to pay for the total seats usually P20 for the pedicab and P100 for the tricycle depending on your destination. There are also a lot of taxi cabs in Bacolod but avoid the ones that do not use the meter. I can personally recommend Faith Taxi, Angel in Us, MMLI (uses CCTV camera) and Love Cab (with WiFi).
Some main roads like Araneta Street and Lacson Street may be closed to vehicle during MassKara Festival so be prepared to take some walk by wearing comfortable shoes. Take this also as an opportunity to enjoy the sites and sounds around the main streets of Bacolod. Araneta and Lacson streets are very much alive with concerts and events for the MassKara Festival.
How to Enjoy MassKara Festival 2014
- Wear comfortable shoes and clothes and be prepared for any weather. With climate change, who knows what weather we’ll have on MassKara day? But be prepared for a scorching hot day or a rainy day. Bring a folding umbrella and a hat which will come in handy for any weather. Don’t forget to apply sunblock and bring ample drinking water.
- Get the best view of the streetdancing competition. If you want to get closer to the dancers and get on the streets where the action is, I suggest you get a photographer’s ID. With a photographer’s ID, you can enter all major activity areas and you can also enter your photos for the contest.
- Get on the street at least an hour before the start of the streetdancing which is usually at 2PM. Whether you have a photographer’s ID or not, there are a lot of spots where you can get a good photo opportunities with the dancers. Good spots are the Araneta-Libertad Street (near Bacolod Chicken Haus), in front of Rizal Elementary School and in front of Lopue’s Araneta and Lopue’s San Sebastian.
- Don’t go to sleep, at least not until you get to party along Lacson Street. As the Tourism Strip of Bacolod, Lacson Street is where most parties and concerts will be held during MassKara Festival. Don’t worry about food because you’ll never go hungry in Lacson Street because it’s lined with local restaurants and international fastfood chains.
More Reasons to Visit Bacolod
It’s more fun to visit Bacolod during MassKara Festival but there’s more to Bacolod than the “happiest festival in the Philippines”. Negros Occidental has a lot of tourist attractions waiting to be discovered. We have listed down 101 Things to enjoy in Bacolod but below are Top 10 Reasons to Visit Bacolod other than MassKara Festival, in no particular order.
- The Ruins. There are many ancestral houses in Negros Occidental but none of them has a story as interesting and romantic as the Ruins of Mariano Lacson’s mansion… and none of them has an equally interesting and engaging guide named Roger.
- Heritage Houses and Delicacies of Silay City. This city has the most number of NHI registered ancestral houses in the Philippines and three of which were turned into museums. Silay City is also home to famous delicacies of Negros Occidental and home to the oldest bakeshop in the province, El Ideal.
- Museums – Negros museums are time capsules of the lifestyles of Negrenses. Know more about the history of the province and sugar as its lifeblood by visiting the Negros Museum, Dizon-Ramos Museum and the Museum Negrense de La Salle.
- Art Galleries. Ever heard of Nunelucio Alvarado and Charlie Co? Well, they’re some of the country’s top artists and they’re from Bacolod City. You can find their works and of other local artists in various Bacolod Art Galleries such as Italia Restaurant, Artes Figuras and Gallery Orange.
- Organic Food and Agriculture– Negros Island is the Organic Agriculture capital of the Philippines so if you want to learn more about Organic Agriculture, or simply want to taste Organic Food, then Bacolod is the best place for you. Visit the Negros Organic Market, Peñalosa Farms, AID Foundation and May’s Organic Garden and Restaurant if you want to be inspired to try the organic lifestyle.
- Local Food and Drinks – Ilonggo foods are among the tastiest in the country. Think of Bacolod Chicken Inasal, Batchoy, Bas-uy, Cansi – I’m sure you’re already salivating. You can have all these and more in Bacolod. Did I mention drinks? Yes, we have locally produced Federico’s Wine, Bogsbrew Beer and Don Papa Rum. And after you’ve had all the intoxicating drinks, sober up with our local coffee brews from Fresh Start Organics, Bob’s Café and Kuppa.
- Cakes and Pastries – In Bacolod, you can have all the cakes you want and eat them too. We aren’t the “sugar bowl” of the Philippines for nothing. We have the best pastries and delicacies in the country such as napoleons and piaya and cakes and pastries from Calea, Bob’s, Bascon and Felicia’s.
- Mambukal Resort – When it comes to eco-destinations, Mambukal Resort is one of the top destinations in Negros and one which is very accessible from Bacolod City. Only 45 minutes from Bacolod and you’ll be able to enjoy the seven-tiered waterfalls, visit the butterfly garden, watch the fruit bats, take a dip in the warm spring pool, or be treated to a relaxing spa.
- Churches – In addition to colonial churches, Negros Occidental has some of the most interesting churches in the country. Colonial churches such as the San Sebastian Cathedral of Bacolod, Mary Magdalene of Hinigaran, San Diego Pro Cathedral of Silay are just some of the province’s colonial churches. Churches such as the St. Joseph the Worker in Victorias (Church or Angry Christ), Chapel of the Cartwheels in Manapla and the Virgen Sang Barangay Chapel in Bacolod are churches to visit for spiritual and cultural enrichment.
- Negros Products. Don’t leave Bacolod without bringing home products handcrafted by Negrense hands. The Negros Showroom by the Association of Negros Producers houses the best products in Negros Island. Most of the producers are small enterprises and a majority of them managed by women.
In addition to these wonderful reasons to visit Bacolod, every visitor gets a bonus, the infectious smile of the locals. While you’re preparing for your MassKara 2014 trip, get into the groove by listening to this year’s MassKara music.