Nayon Clark Park set to open in Oct.

CLARK FREEPORT, Philippines — The Nayon Pilipino Foundation (NPF) is set to re-launch on Oct. 28 one of the country’s popular theme parks here, to be called Nayon Clark Park (NCP).

NPF executive director Michelle Aguilar-Ong said NCP will be the home of Filipino diversity, a venue of expression for the arts such as visual, performing, literature, culinary, among others.

The theme park will also showcase Filipino history, culture, heritage and tradition, highlighting the 169 indigenous tribes of the Philippines.

“The park also aims to be the home of young and struggling artists in various fields,” Ong said.

The 5.6-hectare park complex is currently undergoing renovation, including the theater area, the villages, the food park, the man-made lagoon, the galleries and the replacement and upgrading of the lighting equipment and other display areas and centers. The theater will be used for daily cultural shows, while the food park will host retail goods like souvenir and novelty items and a delicatessen.

The new NCP logo will use the Vanda Sanderiana flower, an orchid commonly known in the Philippines as waling-waling, which will be launched before the opening in October.

Replicas or miniatures of important places and structures, which is what the old park was known for, will continue to be among the attractions, like the famous rice terraces of Banaue, the Barasoain Church in Malolos, the house of national hero Jose Rizal and others.

The villages of Kalinga, Ifugao and Aetas are among the group of indigenous peoples that will be reproduced.

The theme park was transferred here from Manila in July 2002 under Executive Order No.11 and opened anew in 2007 at the multibillion-peso former Expo Filipino complex in Clark.

Ong said NPF will be aggressive in marketing the new theme park, targeting not only educational field trips but also tourism activities in line with the meeting, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) thrust of Clark Development Corporation.