Winning hearts at Panagbenga and Kaamulan festivals

MANILA, Philippines - Fans from the North and South were overwhelmed when Kapuso stars joined the Panagbenga Festival in Baguio City and the Kaamulan Festival in Bukidnon recently.

In Bukidnon, more than 15,000 fans crowded the capitol grounds of Malaybalay City to catch a glimpse of First Time’s Joshua Dionisio, Barbie Forteza and Jake Vargas during Kapuso Night held last March 9.

The popular young stars were thrilled when they visited Bukidnon for the first time. They were joined on stage by La Diva and the Sexbomb Dancers.

The Sexbomb Dancers performed Bilog na Hugis Itlog dance — the election automation music, which forms part of GMA News and Public Affairs’ voters education campaign. They also performed Sayaw-Galaw automation dance at the Bukidnon State University (BSU) in the afternoon with hundreds of students and university officials who watched in delight.

Jonalyn Viray, Aicelle Santos and Maricris Garcia known as La Diva, on the other hand, made jaws drop with their rendition of popular hits.

The people were on their feet the whole time, cheering and taking pictures of their favorite stars. But the cheers and support for Joshua, Barbie and Jake topped them all, as the crowd kept shouting their character names in First Time, every time the young stars went out on stage to perform.

Meanwhile, the scenarios during GMA’s float parade and Kapuso Night at the Panagbenga Festival in Baguio City were similar.

Joshua, Barbie, and Jake rode the Kapuso float which traversed Baguio’s main thoroughfares from the DILG station to the Athletic Bowl where all the participating floats converged.

Panday Kids Buboy Villar, Sabrina Man and Julian Trono were among the young Kapuso stars who wowed and regaled the crowd at Kapuso Night held at the Rambakan Drive of SM City Baguio last Feb. 28.

Before the show, the people were treated to a free public viewing of previous episodes of First time and Panday Kids. By the time the young stars appeared on stage, the fans, especially the younger set, were ecstatic.

Charisse Solomon and Mike “Pekto” Nacua hosted the Kapuso Night and had fun teasing the audience before revealing that they were the program’s emcees.

The cast of Panday Kids took turns entertaining the fans. Buboy sang twice and so did Sabrina, while Julian wowed the crowd with his dance moves. On the other hand, the ladies in the crowd swooned to JC de Vera and Polo Ravales who performed two songs each. The male artists each took a partner from the crowd and serenaded them on stage, sending the rest of the audience in a fit of shrieks.

The atmosphere shifted a bit as catcalls pervaded the air when recent FHM cover girl Jackie Rice came from behind and performed onstage. One lucky guy was plucked from the audience and escorted Jackie while she finished her song.

The Sexbomb Dancers, who were also part of the GMA contingent in Baguio, danced the Bilog song to the delight of the audience.