Lancaster New City Cavite highlights family holiday bonding with open-air cinema
CAVITE, Philippines — As far as holiday bonding goes, nothing quite compares to families being out and about as one, all amid the festive air. Throw in a cinematic experience and tasty snacks and the night of merrymaking becomes truly unforgettable.
This is exactly what Lancaster New City accomplished last December 14, as it commenced another eventful evening of Open Air Sine Saya at The Square, as part of their annual Christmas Happynings, now running on its fifth year.
Themed “Toyland Christmas,” the celebration definitely brought families and friends closer together.
“Christmas Happynings is really for spending more time together. Right now, because of social media, everybody is on their phones. Sometimes you go out, you eat together but you don’t really talk to each other. So here, we have everything that families can do together while overcoming distractions,” said Maresh Matias, assistant vice president for Marketing at Lancaster New City, in an exclusive interview with Philstar.com.
“We’re not just building houses, we’re building communities, inculcating values, and ultimately transforming lives. In the end, what makes the community are the people inside it,” she added.
No phones, just vibing
Before culminating into what was another successful movie night, the day started with other fun activities.
The Kiddie Costume Parade was a 30-minute fair of cuteness that had community kids on their best costumes.
At the Outdoor Toyland were the Bubble Booth, Crystal Ball Shoot, Kiddie Mini Train, Inflatable Castle, and of course a Photo Booth with Santa Claus for families to encapsulate, in a single frame, the overall experience.
A puppet show was also staged to teach the audience, especially the children, the value of friendship, hard work, and the true meaning of Christmas through Christ, in the form of a cleverly disguised journey of finding “X” as in “X-Mas.”
Games were also facilitated: from the Lancaster version of “Minute To Win It,” to Limbo Rock, and finally The Penguin Waddle Relay, for more immersion and excitement.
Additionally, there was a Photo Contest where winners were picked based on their best photo posts online carrying the hashtags #ChristmasHappynings2019 #LancasterNewCityCavite #SineSayaAtLNC. Winners were given gift certificates, gift packs, and t-shirts.
Getting star-struck
The community gathering was graced by special performances from none other than sought-after, rising talents from Star Magic: Vivoree Esclito, Ylona Garcia, and Ronnie Alonte.
The young stars charmed the crowd and gave their all to jazz up the beginning of the evening with covers from popular songs.
Later in the evening, homeowners and their families settled in on spread blankets and cots on the grassy square for the main event.
Open-air cinema
In partnership with Cinema One, families were treated to a special screening of the blockbuster hit “The Hows Of Us,” starring a romantic drama film directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina in 2018, starring today’s biggest teen loveteam, Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla.
In the end, and in typical Lancaster Christmas tradition, the evening was topped with a pyromusical fireworks display for a true “happyning” never to be forgotten.
