Focus on Cacnio & Rubio

In Focus on the Arts: Strokes and Silhouettes, a month-long exhibition at the Power Plant Mall in Rockwell, sculptor Michael Cacnio and painter Dominic Rubio worked together in an exceptional exhibit titled Silhouettes of Enduring Traditions.

The artworks in the exhibit integrated Rubio’s renowned colonial character portraits — with their signature elongated necks — with Cacnio’s monumental pieces of sculpture of Philippine traditions and practices.

Both artists have exhibited widely in the country and abroad, and have gained acclaim in their respective practices. Rubio, a University of Santo Tomas Fine Arts graduate, recently unveiled an important mural on the Philippine-US relations at the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC. Cacnio, on the other hand, is a product of the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, and is a 2006 Ten Outstanding Young Men awardee.

Silhouettes of Enduring Traditions was a continuation of an unprecedented series of integrated works.

Kevin Kwan and Karen Davila.

Kevin Kwan in Manila

Fans and book lovers went “crazy” as Fully Booked brought back New York Times best-selling author Kevin Kwan to Manila. Kevin went around the metro for a series of book tours, media interviews and social gatherings.

The tour kicked off with a press conference and a VIP book signing held at The Studio at Fully Booked in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. The rest of the book tour was held at Power Plant Mall, SM Megamall, Ayala UP Town Center and Conrad Manila’s S Maison.

Thousands of Kevin’s fans were able to enjoy a Q&A session, readings from his novel Rich People Problems, and of course, book signing and photo ops with Kevin himself.

Among those who feted Kevin were Adora, which hosted a dinner for Kevin in its luxurious retail space; and The Aivee Clinic and Fully Booked at the Manila House Private Club.

(Get your copies of the Crazy Rich trilogy at all Fully Booked branches and on bit.ly/FullyBookedKevinKwan. Limited signed copies available!)

Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. (SPAVI) president and CEO Vicente Gregorio, Century Pacific Group founder Ricardo Po Sr. and SPAVI vice chair Ricardo Gabriel Po Jr.

Fun, family, pizza!

Magic, music, cheerdancing and fun marked the grand opening of the 200th Shakey’s restaurant at Paseo de Magallanes in Makati City.

The new restaurant features new elements that will soon be fixtures in all Shakey’s restaurants across the country, including spacious dining halls, a Fun Zone, a piano that takes back to the early years of Shakey’s; and a dessert bar.

Highlighting the monumental event was the ceremonial cutting of a giant Shakey’s pizza by Century Pacific Group founder Ricardo Po Sr., Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. (SPAVI) vice chair Ricardo Gabriel Po Jr., and president and CEO Vicente Gregorio with Shakey’s endorser Luis Manzano.  

Gregorio said, “This store is a product of hard work and many hours thinking about how we can make the Shakey’s experience even more ‘wow.’ We wanted this branch to standout without losing the Shakey’s trademark design.”

The newest Paseo de Magallanes branch definitely achieved the goal with new elements not seen before in other stores. The piano was there as well as an array of cakes in the dessert bar to complete the menu. The staff had new, distinct uniforms to signify Shakey’s commitment to innovation. This reminded me of my childhood birthday parties at the old Shakey’s.

(For more information, visit www.shakeyspizza.ph, www.facebook.com/ShakeysPH/ and @shakeysph on Instagram.)

(Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)