THE Negros Press Club (NPC) held its Fellowship Night last Saturday at the GT Hotel in Bacolod.
The celebration was the club’s participation in the 35th MassKara Festival, which culminated Sunday.
More than 100 officers, members and guests attended the gathering.
The NPC officers, led by its president Carla Cañet, and members thanked the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for sponsoring the party. The NGCP was represented by lawyer Leonor Felipa Cynthia Alabanza, its spokesperson and adviser for External Affairs.
This year's celebration had a new twist as the club honored a former member and local artist Ely Santiago who started the MassKara Festival by coining the term MassKara from two words—Mass (many or multitude) and Kara (faces).
His son, Lee Santiago, received the certificate of appreciation. He thanked the NPC for remembering his father's good deed.
Also honored by the NPC were the 10 MassKara dancers and their choreographer Panoy Cabalcar, who represented Bacolod in the
Philippine Festival in Tokyo, Japan last August.
Eleanor Fukuda, who served as the vice chairperson of the Philippine Festival Organizing Committee, was also honored by the NPC.
Fukuda, on the other hand, turned over a plaque of appreciation from the Philippine Embassy in Japan to the MassKara dancers and to Cañet who joined them in Japan.
Bacolod Mayor Monico Puentevella and Vice Mayor Greg Gasataya, who were both former media men, Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr. and Abang-Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano graced the occasion.
“It’s good to see you all here. Our MassKara Festival is a success with the media playing their role well. I thank you all. Let’s move on for a bigger Bacolod,” Puentevella said.
The media enjoyed a sumptuous buffet. The fun evening was capped with a singing contest, with prizes sponsored by Bacolod Rep. Evelio Leonardia.
Cañet said several media personalities had been part of the evolution of the MassKara Festival, like Leonardia and Eli Tajanlangit, who were both former festival directors, and Modesto Sa-onoy, that is why the festival is “very close to our hearts.”