PAF's gong & bamboo fest

MANILA, Philippines - This year’s Philippine Arts Festival (PAF) will be punctuated with melodious booming sounds as its music component will feature the first-ever Gong and Bamboo Music Festival from Feb. 20 to 24 in Cagayan de Oro City (CDO) and from Feb. 20 to 25 in Baguio City and Iloilo.

The festival will be a gathering of local and foreign gong and bamboo ensembles for performances and workshops. It will also incorporate a conference that will highlight the social and spiritual significance of music produced by gong and bamboo.

In the wake of the tragedy that ravaged CDO last year, the music event will not focus on revelry but will promote healing and inspire hope among Cagayanons. Music, after all, has inherent healing powers.

With the theme, Tradisyon at Inobasyon (Tradition and Innovation), PAF will highlight both traditional and contemporary art forms. Held every February in celebration of the National Arts Month in pursuant to the Presidential Proclamation No. 683 signed in 1991, it is spearheaded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCAA), led by chairman Felipe de Leon Jr. and OIC executive director Adelina Suemith with Marichu Tellano, head of the Planning, Policy Formulation and Programming Division.

For details, call 527-2192 or 0928-5081057 or log on to www.ncca.gov.ph.