DABAWENYO fans stormed the city's shopping malls on March 16, where their favorite stars performed in celebration of the Araw ng Dabaw.
Thanks to the country's giant networks -- GMA and ABS-CBN -- for making the celebration more exciting and entertaining as they bring in their talents to join Dabawenyos in the festivities.
I was at Gaisano Mall of Davao around 4 p.m. that day and was surprised to see fans, thousands of them -- most of whom are in their teens -- pushing each other just to get a place near the stage at The Atrium of the mall.
I saw mothers tagging along their young children, braving a huge crowd just to have a glimpse of their favorite stars who were about to perform.
Crowd estimate was placed between 8,000 to 10,000, with more fans outside the mall who could no longer get in.
It was GMA's Kapuso Night at The Atrium, the network's own way to celebrate the Araw ng Dabaw, graced by the network's stable of stars -- Kris Bernal and Aljur Abrenica, lead star of the top-rating show The Last Prince; the Sexbomb Dancers, and GMA's latest discoveries -- the stars of teen show First Time -- Joshua Dioniso, Barbie Forteza, and Jake Vargas.
Prior to their arrival, the audience were already all hyped up with the on-ground show and games facilitated by Kapuso local personalities led by Chuck Allie, Kristine and Krystal Gonzales, and Bea dela Fuente and Niko Ferrer.
The crowd cheered when cute and charming Kris Bernal appeared on stage. She rendered a song before she called in her leading man Aljur Abrenica to join her. The crowd got louder as the two performed the song "Friend of Mine." The crowd went wilder as Aljur granted their request to give Kris a kiss.
Indeed, Aljur and Kris have gone a long way since winning Starstruck IV, endeared themselves to Dabawenyo fans through their successful soaps on GMA.
The Sexbomb Dancers, as usual, never failed to impress their audience with their dancing prowess. They have remained unbeatable, giving out their energy when they perform to the delight of their fans.
But what surprised me really was the very warm welcome extended by the fans to three teen stars of First Time.
Good-looking and talented Barbie, Joshua and Jake have a strong following in this part of the country. They were the stars of the show -- getting the loudest applause as fans cheered and swooned everytime they appeared on stage to perform.
Of course, Barbi, Joshua, and Jake can carry a tune, and watch them on First Time -- aired daily before the primetime newscast 24 Oras -- and you can say they can really act.