What they did last summer at Bonifacio Global City

MANILA, Philippines – Before you know it, the relentless rains are here and students are composing their first paper for the year: “What I did last summer.” For families, summer will always be a special time for bonding, when the kids are out of school and they get to spend quality time together. Summer activities are what future family talks will be all about: Remember that summer we brought the kids to their first cooking workshop, and that summer they learned how to do tie-dye shirts? Or when mom and dad joined a bike race? Or when they won a photo contest? 

For Bonifacio Global City, summer is all about the pursuit of one’s passions, a time to grow and learn, to feed the spirit, hence Passionfest ’09. All events revolved around the wide, open spaces of BGC, to appreciate summer all the more.

This city that is Home of Passionate Minds held Passionfest ’09 from April 25 to May 30, culminating in the BGC Arts Festival where three of the country’s top performing companies — Ballet Philippines, Tanghalang Pilipino and the UP Madrigal Singers — held shows and the winners of the Vision Digital Open were awarded.

The Vision Digital Open held competitions in photography and short film, receiving 472 and 13 entries, respectively. For the photo contest, Jose Melencio Brillo won first prize for his “BHS Parks Bonding Time,” showing a family enjoying a sweet summer day at Bonifacio High Street; Ana Rizza Florendo won second for “The Fort Cityscape,” a brilliantly composed photo of the city glowing in the dark night; Poncevic Ceballos Jr. won third for “Passion for Travel,” which features a group of friends riding on one of Taguig’s earth-friendly transport vehicles.

For the film competition, which was judged by award-winning filmmakers Chris Martinez, Mark Meily and Nap Jamir, the top prize went to Victor Villanueva for Little Stories, which shows that “in a grand city there exist little stories of hope and passion;” Roel Mendoza takes second place for his experimental video installation on the living aspect of things; and Gino Parma wins third place for his Edge of the Ocean, a short film that explores the beginning, middle, and ending of love. As the judges had hoped at the beginning of summer when Vision was announced, the competition received some inventive and creative entries from non-professionals as it was participated by students, fresh graduates and several hobbyists.

Ballet Philippines president Maan Hontiveros once said: “An artist needs to perform, he needs feedback from an audience to nourish his soul.”

That’s exactly what Bonifacio Global City gave the three performing companies during Passionfest ’09: a venue that was literally so close to the audience the performances were virtually interactive events.   

Ballet Philippines did a 30-minute excerpt of Ulaging (Daog-dog Sa Sang Libong Kulog); Tanghalang Pilipino interpreted Mulan; and the UP Madz blended their voices and their genres with William Tell Overture, A Very Special Love, I’m Yours, How Did You Know, ABBAcappella, Bohemian Rhapsody and Shine.

For the athletically minded, summer is not summer without breaking a sweat. The Alleycat Race, a sort of Amazing Race on bikes, had 68 pairs racing around Bonifacio Global City looking for clues and earning points.  

For the kids, the activities in Kids Camp were lined up on all weekends of May. Bag designer and founder of the School of Fashion and the Arts (SOFA) Amina Aranaz said that summer is really for children to come out of their shell. “Kids are so carefree and passionate. We teach and guide them to be creative and explore the artistic side of life, because in school it’s more about books and grades.”

Amina held a bag design and fashion sketching workshop with 18 young girls, teaching them to embellish using beads, sequins, buttons and other things. “Another nice thing about these activities is that it gives them the opportunity to meet new friends and build friendships,” she said.

Chef Margarita Fores held a cooking demonstration with 18 kids to show them that cooking is not just about nourishment of the body, but also of one’s creative spirit. She cooked pasta dishes — and also some pizza, which the kids enjoyed a lot.

The Stock Market restaurant also held cooking demos for 28 children ages six to eight, and nine to 12.

Hobbes and Landes, the favorite hobby store of both children and adults, held tie-dye and yoyo demonstrations. For a moment there, the scene was awash in ‘60s ambience with very hippie-looking shirts created by the 27 participants.

To teach them what is perhaps the easiest but also a profound way to care for the environment, Tetra Pak held a Carton Craft workshop where the children used recycled cartons and turned them into works of art and other uses.

Summer at BGC always begins with an art tour to kick off Passionfest. This time around, Carlos Celdran did his tour by hopping on a bus — and taking a walk along the designated sculptures around the city. “It’s all part of my interest in urbanism,” said Carlos of the tours he led.

With the rains coming down every day, we can only dream for time to go by fast for another BGC Passionfest, when the sun shines all day and we have the time and freedom to pursue our passions.