A fine afternoon of polo

Known not just for its history of boldness, color and design but also for its unwavering support to social causes, Fila recently held its annual Fila Cup at The Manila Polo Club to support iSport Life Ministries, the non-profit subsidiary of iSport Life Inc. Fila Philippines is headed by chairman Butch Albert and president Cris Albert. 

The Red Team composed of Butch Albert, Santi Juban, Adrian Garcia and Coco Garcia emerged as champions from the Low Goal Game while the White Team composed of Iñigo Zobel, Cole Aguirre, Gregorio Gelosi and Dirk Gould won the High Goal Game.

STAR’s Tim Yap and Tessa Prieto-Valdes hosted the Cup’s opening and awarding ceremonies. It was a fun afternoon that support several of iSport Life Ministries’ campaigns.

iSport Life Ministries was born out of the desire to reach out to the survivors of the calamities in the provinces of Aurora and Quezon. A team of Christian volunteers headed by Rolando Cucio, Mariyah Lagman and Victor Julius Ferrer organized to provide emergency relief and medical assistance in Infanta, Quezon. iSport Life Ministries  has been supporting Filipino families through the years with the vision of having a society of progressive, self-sustaining communities.

The group has several campaigns like Operation Compassion, which aims to share the word of God by building home, churches, and feeding 8,000 families in Mandaluyong at least once daily. Operation Compassion also provides free medical and dental check-ups.  There is also iFoster, which spearheads foster care for children who are still in the orphanage awaiting permanent adoption. It conducts forums on foster care and adoption, hosts trainings and workshops for foster and adoptive parents, organizes foster and adoption support groups, provides technical assistance on foster care and adoption, and advocates women’s and children’s rights and protection. 

Another iSport Life Ministries campaign is iRebuild. It handles the construction of resettlement houses in calamity-stricken areas such as Bicol and Tacloban. It also provides emergency response to calamities and natural disasters, relief and medical missions, psychological counseling, camp management, holistic community development, entrepreneurship, family values and spiritual formation as well as employment and skills enhancement.

Fila is an Italian-South Korean sportswear manufacturer widely known in specializing technologically advanced footwear in running, casual, basketball and racquet sports. With over 350 outlets nationwide, Fila has been growing rapidly to offer new styles across different footwear categories in sports and lifestyle.

(Visit www.fila.com.ph.)

Louder & prouder!

A bigger, braver and louder O Bar recently reopened its doors in Pasig City with a grand Carnival/Cirque du Soleil-themed event. Exciting and jaw-dropping performances wowed the guests from the LGBT community and the party-going public.

The bar’s Pasig City location is almost 10 times bigger than its roots in Malate, Manila. Its huge dance area and eight VIP lounges can accommodate 1,000 people. O Bar stays true to its mission of providing a home to its guests by creating world-class drag performances that set the standard on ultimate partying experience.

“I must have been a drag queen in my past life because each time I go to O Bar, I feel at home! I am so happy about its success as it is now bigger, better with more beautiful performers putting drag shows front and center for the world to enjoy,” says fashion designer Rajo Laurel.

O Bar does not just claim to be the biggest drag show club in the Philippines but bravely one of the best. Expect more world-class performances from the phenomenal O Divas as they go restless in trainings and rehearsals with resident choreographer Marc Devon to produce new and original acts. The club also remains to wow its guests with its amazing Poi Group doing spectacular routines and giving the latest in LED technology, and the tireless Go-go Boys and Girls boosting up the party scene.

“The new O Bar has truly taken the LGBT party scene to a whole new level! Bigger, braver and definitely bolder,” says Vince Uy, a magazine creative director.             

Model, host and LGBT advocate Divine Lee shares, “O Bar is my happy place. (It is a place) where music seems a bit louder, people seem a bit happier.”

With the unwavering support from the guests, the bar is left with only one option — to continue to be more than brave to be able to provide and produce a venue where the colors of the rainbow are loudly and proudly displayed.

(The new O Bar is open Wednesdays to Sundays. It is located at CW Depot, Julia Vargas Ave. Ortigas Center, Pasig City. For reservations and inquiries, call 0915-5804104 or 0919-9964154. E-mail [email protected] or visit www.facebook.com/Obarphilippines.)

Into The Woods in Manila

Well-loved Broadway musical Into The Woods finds its way to Manila!

Written by James Lapine (Sunday In The Park With George, Falsettos) and Stephen Sondheim (West Side Story, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd), Into The Woods intertwines the stories of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood and a host of other fairy-tale characters into a lush, extravagant musical that, according to Time Magazine, “affords non-stop pleasure.”

Into The Woods opened in Broadway in 1987. It won numerous accolades, including Tony Awards for Best Score (for Sondheim), Best Book (for Lapine) and Best Actress (for Joanna Gleason, who played the Baker’s Wife). Since then, the show has rarely been absent from stages all around the world, each new version (including a recent New York production starring Amy Adams) earning yet more praise from critics and audiences alike.

Last Christmas, the film version of Into The Woods — starring Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp and Emily Blunt — opened in US cinemas, giving the public yet another incarnation of the beloved stage musical. It is produced by Disney and directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago, Nine).

The live version of this one-of-a-kind Broadway show is showing at the Kasalikasan Garden in Bonifacio Global City until March 15.

Into The Woods is presented by Bonifacio Global City, Aviva Global Marine Corp. and Olx Philippines  in cooperation with The Picasso Boutique Residences and Plana Forma. Other sponsors include Interaksyon.com, Image Nation Photography, MAC Cosmetics, Lulu Swing Shoes, Citrusnap and Stanley Ong Photography. (Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)