MANILA, Philippines - Coachella, Summer Sonic, Lollapalooza, Fete dela Musique – with the emergence of the hipster subculture (love it or hate it), the popularity of music festivals have been on the rise. Our Facebook news feeds, Twitter timelines and Tumblr dashboards have been flooded with pictures of waif-thin girls (in crop tops and daisy dukes, with their long, wavy hair hanging immaculately across their faces), and beer-holding gentlemen (almost always topless, sometimes in a tank top or a button-down —albeit with zero buttons shut, with a fedora and an uber-cool Wayfarer on).
The Department of Tourism has also launched its new campaign slogan: “It’s more fun in the Philippines.” Adapting to recent tides, this campaign goes beyond billboards and advertisements, and onto our computer screens, being shared, retweeted, reblogged, and repinned in various social media networks.
On Aug. 18, these two will collide, as the UP Junior Marketing Association Publicity Event and Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation, Status, Yabang Pinoy, Francis M Clothing Co., Pulp, Deeper Manila, and Sari-sari Sounds bring you Hiraya, an arts and music festival aiming to showcase why it is indeed, more fun in the Philippines. The event will be held in the open field at the corner of 34th and 9th streets (beside Mercato Centrale) in Bonifacio Global City, with free admission until 9 p.m. Gates open at 6:30. VIP tickets are also available.
The festival will feature musical performances by indie pop-alternative ensemble Ang Bandang Shirley, lo-fi crooners Bee Eyes, electro virtuoso SimilarObjects, ambient spins and funky projections by Midnight Aviators, neo-jazz quintet Extrapolation, indie sweethearts Ash Keachum, bass music artisan InkEyes, and many more.
Live mural painting by street artists SYLV, Uniko-Indio, and Wrapo, as well as dance performances by cultural dance troupe Lahing Batangan, and hip-hop crews Soulstice, and Legit Status are also some of the fest’s attractions to look forward to.
The night will culminate in a bang that will surely lift everyone off their seats (or in this case, patch of grass).
The UP Junior Marketing Association (UP JMA) is no stranger to event planning. Every partyphile in the metro is familiar with UP JMA’s ADHOC, the biggest college party in the country, and also the organization’s biggest profit-generating event, which draws more than four thousand people biannually in the World Trade Center.
* * *
Contact Bea at 0918-9257879 or Denise at 0917-501 4199 for VIP tickets. For more details regarding Hiraya, visit facebook.com/upjmahiraya, and twitter.com/upjmahiraya
Hiraya is made possible in cooperation with Department of Tourism, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Manila Beer Light, Tanduay Ice, Virgin Cola, and Nippon Paint Pylox Lazer. Also brought to you by Beach Hut Sunblock, Azta Urban Salon, Leslie’s Clover Chips, and The Philippine Star. Our official media partners: Monster Radio RX 93.1, Mellow 94.7, 99.5 RT, Garage, Spot.ph, WhenInManila.com. With special thanks to McDonald’s, Chief Clothing, Timbre Headphones, Orix Metro Leasing and Finance Corporation