BACOLOD: The Sapphire Edition of this city’s world-famous MassKara Festival will kick off with a ‘salubong’ (welcome) on Oct. 11 and will climax with the street and arena dance competition on Oct. 27.
The schedule released by organizer Bacolod Yuhum Foundation Inc. on Tuesday include other major events MassKaralympics on Oct. 4 to 25; MassKaNamit cookfest, Oct. 15 to 17; Miss Bacolod MassKara finals night, Oct. 19; Lacson MassKara 2024: Kingdom, Oct. 25 to 27; MassKarade Ball, Oct. 25; and Electric MassKara, Oct. 26.
Considered one of the most colorful festivals in the country, the MassKara Festival showcases dancers donning carnival-inspired costumes and masks on the streets and in a stadium on the final day.
MassKara, which means many faces, was born after a series of tragedies faced by the Negrenses and Bacolodnons in the early 1980s, particularly the sugar industry crisis and the sinking of Negros Navigation’s M/V Don Juan.
Under the administration of Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, the festival got m
ore global exposure through the performances of MassKara dancers during the 125th Philippine Independence Anniversary Commemoration Parade in New York City, United States and in the Busan International Dance Festival in Busan Metropolitan City, South Korea, both in 2023.
In February this year, MassKara dancers also performed in the Cathay International Chinese New Year Night Parade in Hong Kong and the Lantern Festival in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.
The MassKara dancers also flew to Milan, Italy in June for the Sandiwa Fiesta Europa’s 126th Philippine Independence Day event.
Source: Philippines News Agency