This Week in Bacolod (October 7 to 13, 2018)

This week, Bacolod will have a dry and sunny weather as Masskara Festival kicks off. There will be little to no wind inland, and just moderate coastal sea breezes in the afternoon to somehow beat the heat each day of the week. A 40 percent chance of rain showers in the evening is also in the forecast [1]. However, the whole week will be warm, humid and cloudy so it is advisable to wear some light colored, breathable fabrics. You’ll need that comfortable clothing as Masskara Festival will draw more people to the city proper.

As the 39th Masskara Festival kicks off, security preparations are just still halfway complete. This week, it is expected that more policemen will be deployed for security and traffic management purposes on areas like the Lacson strip. An inter-agency coordination meeting was also organized to make sure that all possible scenarios, emergency situations, and other eventualities will be given appropriate and immediate actions. The agencies involved in the meeting are the Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the Bacolod City Government and other related agencies [2].

The expansion of the Bacolod Silay Airport terminal and runway is eyed by top officials of Negros Occidental. The officials said locally-initiated public private partnership (PPP) is encourage for the expansion. According to Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, they are opting for a PPP since the funding from the national government did not materialize [3]. This is great news for tourists who will be flying in and out of the island since there are a lot of complaint reports in the airport regarding with the lack of facilities. An expansion also means that more domestic and international flights will be catered.

The city government of Bacolod is eyeing to build a coliseum and a museum for the culture and the arts within the same location. To be named as the Bacolod Masskara Coliseum, this proposed infrastructure is one of the four big projects that will be funded by the PhP1.7billion loan of the city government. Based on the initial proposal, the first two floors of the building will house the Masskara museum, while the top floor will house an amphitheater [4]. This can be a great avenue for tourists who will be visiting Bacolod to experience Masskara even if it’s not October.

Bacolod City unveils this year’s logo with the theme “Happy Birthday, Bacolod” in celebration of 80 years of festivity and resilience of Bacoleños and their festival. The theme’s text is bigger than the Masskara Festival itself because it means this birthday milestone is bigger than the festival itself. The masked dancer peeking in the first letter “O” in Bacolod has eight colorful feathers that symbolize the eight colorful decades of the festival, logo designer Mark Lester Jarmin explained [5]. Excited to experience MassKara? Check out the This Week’s Section in Bacolod every week for more updates.

Check out the schedules of the most anticipated events in Masskara Festival through this article: Big Events and Shows to Catch during Masskara Festival. Mark the event you want to attend, and put it in the calendar. If you are having a difficulty to find an accommodation, you can head out to the listing section of the Yoorekka site and find various hotels that you might like.