Last summer my brother’s EJ and RJ joined Amigo Summer Art Workshop by Brushwand Workshops and Amigo Plaza Mall. And this October they will be learning about street magic! The Philippine Brotherhood of Magicians will be supervising a Street Magic Workshop for Young Magicians for Five (5) Saturdays of October at Amigo Plaza Mall. So if you are 18 years or younger you are eligible to join this “magical” workshop.
Registration will start on September 15, 2010 at Amigo Mall Activity Center. The registration fee is P2500 and it’s inclusive of StreetMagic shirt, starter magic kit, StreetMagic certificate and instructional materials. So the Street Magic Workshops will be for Five (5) Saturdays of October, 3 hours per session (total of 15hrs). For more information please feel free to contact me and I will address your queries to the organizers. Or you can also contact them at 09183290195 or 033 3297477. Just ask for Mark the magician.
By the way below are samples of my little brothers’ works and they are products of the art workshop. I’m so proud of them.
Hey Ilonggo fitness enthusiasts and also to those who care for their health and well-being – the 1st Iloilo Night Run is for you! SM City Iloilo is sponsoring this first ever night run here in Iloilo on August 28th, 7PM. This is for the benefit of Emmanuel Foundation for Children with Special Needs, Inc.
Registration fee is only P100. Registration forms are available at SM City Iloilo, Iloilo Supermart and Iloilo Society Commercial. Registrants will get a chance to win One (1) Scooter or One (1) Globe “Pangkabuhayan” Showcase. If you are the super fit running enthusiast who wins, the prizes for the Male and Female categories are: 1st Place – P3, 000, 2nd Place – P2, 000 and 3rd Place – P1, 000.
You can also download the registration form through this link.
Joining SM City Iloilo’s First Night Run will not only be good for your health, you will also help Emmanuel Foundation for Children with Special Needs, Inc. So I hope to see you there on Saturday!
Here are some tips so you will enjoy and finish the night run:
Keep yourself hydrated so bring your own water bottle.
Check your shoes and make sure that they are in good condition.
Check your outfit, make sure that you’re comfortable running in them.
Relax the day before the race.
Don’t overload yourself with carbs.
Pace yourself correctly because winning isn’t everything.
Set your mind, free your mind of things other than the race so you won’t get easily exhausted.
Do you guys still remember the heat last summer? How unbearable it was and all you can think about was to go to the beach and just stay in the water for hours just so you could escape the unbelievable heat? I’m so thankful all that is over! But before it ended the Iloilo Bloggers were invited to attend a party on May 29th at Bourbon St. which is located at Smallville Complex here in Iloilo City. It was the Havaianas Beach Bar Party with house music mixes by DJ Pav Parrotte and party goers were entertained by Brazilian models (yes the authentic ones), fire dance exhibitions and were also given Havaianas freebies. Free mixed drinks were also given to everyone at the party. Havaianas and SPYCO Marketing Productions Manila organized the event.
Iloilo Bloggers with Camille Labayen - Havaianas Operations Manager (photo by Manuel Yulo Barandiaran)
So do you own a pair of Havaianas flip-flops too? If you don’t well I guess you know someone who does right? These particular brand of flip-flops originated in Brazil and gained world recognition in 1998 after the company developed a style of the sandals that featured the Brazilian flag for the World Cup. The brand has actually been around since 1962 but it only became very popular in the last five years when many celebrities were seen wearing them in the United States. Havaianas footwears are well-known for their comfortable soles and straps. And did you know that the name Havaianas actually means Hawaiians in Portuguese?
The Book Latte is a new coffee shop that is creating quite a buzz here in Iloilo. It’s not the usual coffee shop – they would like to be known as a “revolutionary coffee shop” because it is the first of its kind in the nation to be perfectly complemented by a library! Not only that, they are also the first ones to serve the Ilonggos Krispy Kreme donuts (original glaze or assorted).
Krispy Kreme and cakes!
The Book Latte has an impressive collection of books. Some coffee shops have books but they don’t allow their customers to take them home. But in Book Latte, simply become a member and borrow a book to take home or curl up with your book of choice on one of their comfortable lounges while enjoying coffee made from the richest, organic beans. They have over 1,000 books, magazines, learning materials and periodicals to choose from in a wide range of categories like classics, popular fiction, motivational, romance, business, reference, young adult books and more.
The Library (photo from Book Latte's Facebook account).
Now let’s talk about their coffee. Book Latte provides premium coffee and drinks with more than 30 flavors to choose from. And they say that all their beans are ‘organic which means that they have no flavor enhancers or fertilizers.’ They like to think of themselves as an “eco-café” because they do not use plastic utensils or cutlery and they don’t like Styrofoam products; all of their appliances are energy savers and their taps are equipped with low flow water heads. Aside from the organic coffee they also offer healthy juices and shakes, coffee laced with liquor and alcoholic cakes! They also serve affordable daily breakfasts. And another great thing about this café is that everything on their menu is less than Php100!
My White Chocolate Latte & Pure Chocolate Cake
So here’s how to become a member at Book Latte. You need to fill out a membership form and show a valid student ID (if you’re a student) or employee’s ID (if you’re employed) or a passport/driver’s license for those who are not employed. If you’re less than 12 years old then your parent’s signature is needed to become a member. Only residents of Iloilo and Filipino citizens are allowed to become members. Annual membership rates for students is Php180 per annum while for non-students is Php220 per annum. Membership entitles you to a lot of perks!
The day's specials!
The perks for members are:
A 10% discount on everything on the menu (you must be over 18 to order cocktails or alcoholic cakes).
The chance to borrow books and magazines at the library.
Access to diverse range of learning materials perfect for research and school work.
Access to the lounge and study area.
Plus other exciting perks offered exclusively to members!
Free WIFI for 2 hours.
Book Latte's menu - well half of it actually. LOL!
Book Latte opens at 8am to 8pm on Monday to Saturday and 8am to 5pm on Sundays. You can contact them for inquiries – 333-2574. Located at Quezon Street, (from Robinsons Place Iloilo National Bookstore Exit, turn right and walk roughly 2 minutes until you see Condura Golden Appliance). So apply for membership at Book Latte now and I assure you that you will not regret it because I applied for membership myself the first time I went there! This is the place for us coffee lovers and bookworms!
After I finished casting my vote, Tim and I decided to go to town to have lunch at Allan’s Talabahan. This is one of the “tourist attactions” of Oton. In my opinion, they serve the best talabas in Iloilo. But don’t listen to me though, I may be biased because I live in Oton. Haha! But nothing compares to Allan’s baked talaba! It’s the best! Allan’s Talabahan is located at J.C. Zulueta Street and they will open a branch at Anhawan Beach Resort and Spa soon.
So are you craving for talaba and seafood? Come visit Oton!
The Iloilo Bloggers met again yesterday, May 9th to discuss about the progress of our plans for the Visayas Blogging Summit 2010 which will be held here in Iloilo. We make it a point to meet twice a month to ensure that we are all on the same page, following up on each others tasks and responsibilities. We all want this first ever blogging event in Iloilo to be a success!
So yesterday we met at New York Barbeque which is located at #29 Jalandoni St. Iloilo City (in front of Centennial Hotel). Tim and I arrived 30 minutes before the appointed time of the meeting so we decided to try out their chicken barbeque and we were not disappointed. The chicken was well done and juicy. I told Tim that it actually tasted like the chicken barbeques of Manokan Country in Bacolod. No kidding. The owner, Patrick Chu and his staff were all very gracious! He gave us free desserts! So if you guys are looking for a new place to hang out and enjoy delicious food why don’t you try New York Barbeque – you won’t be disappointed.
I have cast my vote! Now all we have to do is wait – and pray. Pray that after all has been said and done, hopefully the Philippines will finally have the “right” President. Pray that no one will die. Pray that no one will get hurt. Pray for the teachers. And pray that everything will be alright.
I voted for Richard “Dick” Gordon for President and Jejomar Binay for Vice President. Hopefully one of them wins.
We helped Google map the voting precincts here in Iloilo today! Iloilo Bloggers and friends went to Netopia to help Google map the precincts here in the Iloilo province in preparation for the May 10 elections. For our efforts Google gave us “Map Your World” tshirts. The task was actually easy and we had fun while doing it. We also realized that there are a lot of schools (public and private) here in Iloilo City alone and there were some that we don’t know the exact locations yet. Luckily because we converged at Netopia, we were able to help each other map the right precincts.
I wasn’t able to take photos while we were mapping, only after we’re done did I remember to take out my camera. Thanks Google and Junelle for the gastronomic experience at Stufyerface and the fish spa!
If you guys want to help us out in mapping the voting precincts of the Iloilo province please check out this http://www.findyourprecinct.ph/.
Oton is celebrating its 438th Foundation through the Katagman Festival. The Katagman festival was originally names Ogtonganon festival which is derived from the name of the locals -”Ogtongs.” Katagman is actually the old name of San Antonio which is one of the barangays in Oton. Many people don’t know this but Oton was the seat of civilization in this part of the Philippines with the Batiano River, which was a flourishing Malay Port and served as gateway for Christianity. Barangay Katagman was the first regional government in the country under Datu Paiburong until 1226 A.D.
My brothers Rino John and EJ joined the painting/drawing contest yesterday, May 1st which is the first day of the festival. EJ was a runner up while Rino John is the winner – in our hearts.
I stumbled upon this photo on Facebook when Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao defeated Miguel Cotto on November 14th, 2009. Pacquaio won the WBO Welterweight Title and WBC Diamond Belt. I don’t know who made this photo but it still stirs the Pinoy pride in me everytime I look at it. Pacman does that every time he wins a fight. So I’m posting this photo here in my blog so everyone who drops by will also remember that pride and be inspired by Pacquiao.
