We’re delighted to share the thirty-fifth issue of the Helix Events Newsletter. Our goal is to share a diverse collection of events each week from a wide spectrum of communities and cultures across the Philippines. We aim to support event organizers and provide the community with an amazing way to discover great events.

Included each week:

• Main Stage feature of a particularly awesome upcoming event

• Highlights of interesting events each week

• Events Powered by HelixPay to show our ticketing services in action

• Spotlight features a leading personality of the events community

• Big Brain Moment Trivia and data about Filipino events & culture

Let us know what you think on our Facebook Page: Helix Events. We want this to be a collaboration with the events community. You can also see a full list of events in the Philippines at helixevents.asia.

Let’s get started!

Many events that we have in store for you are here to hype you up! Be part of an adventure-driven festival, advocacy making activity, arts class and a board game gathering that will ensure all the fun. With the uniqueness of these engagements, you’ll surely have memorable moments!

MAIN STAGE

GLOCAL: COLOR & CULTURE FESTIVAL
We’re going glocal for this year’s BGC Passionfest!

Mark your calendars for a 2-day street wide festival to celebrate endless passions and colorful culture. Don’t get lost during our passion-filled adventures as we have prepared the following for you:

• Global Fusion Block for everything food, travel, and lifestyle

• Cherry Avenue for live music

• Red Rush District for discovering the great outdoors

• Go Green Zone for sustainability programs and eco-friendly drives

• Neutral Grounds for arts and sports

In our Global Fusion Block, satisfy your cravings for tasty bites from all around the world. Grab a quick snack or drink from over 50 merchants and watch cooking demos by Polish chef Aleksander Baron and his sous chef Agnieszka Kraszewska.

With our Cherry Avenue, turn up the volume and enjoy groovy tunes brought to you by Coke Studio Artists, Busk a Move Music Lounge and TikTok Station.

When you gear up and stop by our Red Rush District, score great deals at the Outdoor Night Market and Festival Sale. You can also get style inspiration from the Travel Adventure Fashion Show. Other highlights include Outdoor Explorer Parade and Brands Activation, Tent City and Glamping, Launch of the R.O.X. Community and Activations, Digital Passport and Interactive Photo Booth and Peak Pursuit Booths.

As you head to the Go Green Zone, you can stay true to your advocacy and join our sustainability initiatives. Learn about recycling with the Tapon to Ipon drive. Engage in workshops with Urban Farmers and the Polish Embassy. Convert your trash to cash with Trash to Cashback. Feel free to ride a scooter or bike with Moovr.

Last but not the least, we have a Neutral Grounds spot for you to engage in sports, arts and outdoor activities. These include open chess games, unity art walls, kids craftivity stations, sensory play activities, active play stations, face painting and fruits memory game. We’re excited to see you all in our adventures!

HIGHLIGHTS

1. destiNASYON: Finding Your Advocacy
As part of the International Volunteer Day celebration, along with the other exciting events we have planned for you, iVolunteer Philippines, in partnership with PHINMA, is running a special event this first week of December.

destiNASYON: Finding your advocacy is a workshop that will help you find which advocacy your heart is closest to. This event includes advocacy talks to immerse you in some of the advocacies that you can support and pursue when volunteering. Aside from the advocacy talks, get ready to meet and be inspired by the new set iVolunteer Champions to be awarded during the program.

For the first time since the initial run last 2020, the event will be held physically! Since this is a physical event, slots are limited. Secure your spot and pay the Registration Fee amounting to P150 wherein P50 will be donated to your iVoluntree participating NGO of choice.

2. Modern Calligraphy & Gift Tag Design Workshop
Workshop Alert! Happy Hands Project presents an event that is perfect for beginners, no other than a class that will be in two parts—basic contemporary calligraphy and the art of making botanical gift tags, in time for the holidays. This workshop will focus on how to combine the art of calligraphy and gift tag making.⁣

⁣You will learn the basics of modern style calligraphy, connecting letters to form the names of your gift recipients and how to arrange and assemble dried botanicals. We will put them all together and make beautiful gift tags. There will also be a special corner for flat lay photoshoot after the class.⁣

⁣Class fee of PHP3,000 includes all materials and tools (’Make Your Own Happy Hour’ Calligraphy Workbook, straight pen holder, pointed nib, jar of black ink, premium quality blank gift tags, dried botanicals, screen printed tote bag), along with quick bites and specialty coffee by our partner venue, KMC Armstrong Cafe by KMC Solutions.

3. QCinema: International Film Festival
In its eleventh year, the film fest continues its growth as a major player in the international festival scene, adding new sections and new programs that aim to elevate every Filipino festival-goer’s experience. This year’s edition of QCinema has again some of the most acclaimed films on the festival circuit in its lineup, including festival award-winners and Oscars entries.

The 10-day festival features 63 titles, divided in 10 sections, including three competition sections. Its main competition section, the Asian Next Wave, has 10 directorial debuts from Asian filmmakers.

QCinema is also introducing two new adjacent features this year. QCinema Project Market (QPM) will connect promising projects from the Philippines and the rest of Asia with producers to help give these films funding. This is an extension of QCinema’s original grant program, and the QPM will itself be giving out cash grants to the best projects in attendance. The QCinema Young Film Critics Lab is another new program. It will gather a group of young Filipinos interested in creating content around film and offer them access to industry professionals to help foster their burgeoning careers. To be held also in conjunction with QCinema is the International Film Industry Conference, which is co-organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines. The event offers an international platform to continue the synergy of the industry by featuring talks from experts and professionals.

Tickets are at 300 pesos each with discounts for QCitizens, senior citizens, PWDs, and students.

4. Feast of Gratitude
EXPRESS YOUR GRATITUDE for all that is wonderful and celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends Feria for Php 2,588 net per person!

Partake in a gratifying feast of homemade pies, traditional whole-roasted turkey, glazed ham and more. Plus, toast to the season with a complimentary round of beer or wine.

5. Arkham Horror: The Blob that Ate Everything
Board Game Madness is back in Arkham, Massachusetts...

Calling all investigators! We need your help! A strange meteor has made its impact in town and no one is allowed to leave.

Can we do something? Join us as we play the epic multiplayer scenario for only PHP475!

Events Powered by HelixPay

Malayang Pilipino Music 25th Anniversary
Expect a full day of praise and worship, soul-stirring sessions, and moments of reflection in the 10th CREATE Worship and Leadership Conference by Malayang Pilipino.

November 27
Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay City

Songhits Festival
Join the most awaited music festival at the City of Pines!

December 2
Melvin Jones Grandstand, Baguio City

Highland Triathlon 2023
This triathlon event will feature an endurance multisport race consisting of a Olympic Distance of 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike and a 10 km run.

December 10
Metro Naga Sports Complex, Naga, Camarines Sur

 SPOTLIGHT

Each week we will feature an interesting leader of the Filipino events community - from producers to choreographers to venue operators to performers & more. There are so many amazing personalities and creators and we are excited to share these stories!

Name: Syed Mohammad Abbas Akbari

Role: Model United Nations (MUN) events community leader in Asia

Describe your role: After 8 years of MUN, this is my retirement year, where I am ending it as the President of the MUN society at the University of Manchester. Before this, I was the President and Founder of Worldwide MUN, which thrived over the COVID years as a leading online MUN conference. My journey began as a delegate in middle school and I worked my way up to becoming the Secretary General of my school MUN in the final year of High School. These have been a wonderful eight or so years, but I am now ready to hand the torch to the next generation of MUN leaders.

Favorite part of your job: As a senior MUNer, I usually lead councils now. However, I miss being a delegate. The adrenaline rush that I got from a heated debate was different, and I loved it. As a delegate, I would prefer having the controversial countries as that is what would make it even more difficult to prepare for the conference.

Best performance you ever had and why?
I would say De La Salle - Model United Nations 2021. It was the biggest online MUN in the Philippines. I was part of signing up our delegates from abroad and attending the ceremonies. It was wonderful to contribute to such a huge conference. That’s one of the things I love about MUN - the amount of connections it allows you to make. Growing up and living in Saudi Arabia, I was already quite familiar with Filipino culture because of the Overseas Working Filipinos (OFWs) who are assigned here. The conference allowed me to interact with more students, and it allowed me to make amazing connections!

Any upcoming events you're excited for and why?
I’ll be leading a delegation from the University of Manchester to go to a conference at the London School of Economics and Queen Mary University in London in early 2024. Both Universities host one of the biggest conferences in the UK and I’m just really glad to be part of those in my last year with MUN. After those, we will be hosting our very own conference in Manchester where I will be the Secretary General for the conference!

Name a favorite movie or song you're liking recently: I can’t choose between these two, and since they’re of different genres, I’ll just state both of them. Interstellar tops my list as it’s just the best filmography I’ve ever come across. Sci-fi mixed with the depiction of a father-daughter relationship and how the movie revolves around that relationship is so well written and filmed. In terms of comedy, Identity Thief is my favourite. Melissa McCarthy’s acting is just something else. I will re-watch that movie at any time, and I mean it.

BIG BRAIN MOMENT

Interesting facts & trivia from the Philippines culture & events community

Trivia Question

Answer: Autism awareness and inclusivity. As a gold winner of the Voice for Change category of Miss Universe 2023, Philippine representative Michelle Marquez Dee earns much praise and respect for her dedication to empower people on the autism spectrum. This cause is personally significant to her because she draws inspiration from her two brothers with special needs. Through the pageant, she was able to be an advocate, proving that beauty with a purpose thrives in this world. Fellow beauty queens from the Philippines expressed how proud they are of Dee because of her kindness, compassion and grace.

Interesting Culture Fact!

Jeepneys, being the most iconic and prevalent mode of transportation in the country, are known as the “King of the Road”. Meanwhile, the tricycle is the Philippine counterpart of Thailand’s tuk-tuk. On the other hand, the kalesa is a historical reminder of the country’s colonial era as a horse-drawn carriage. Others are pedicabs (bicycle-powered rides with a sidecar), trolleys (wooden carts along train tracks), bangka (boats by the coast), kuliglig (modified tractors/mini trucks).

Thanks for reading! If you want to discover more events, please check out helixevents.asia. You can also join our telegram community here.

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