THE largest multi-arts festival in the country is back, but this year, the CCP Pasinaya Open House Festival will be held for a longer period — from Feb. 1 to 3.
Following the theme “Karapatan, Kalayaan, Kultura (Rights, Freedom, Culture),” the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) decided to add an extra day as the open house festival has grown, making it a much longer art journey than just a weekend affair.
The country’s leading art institution will once again open its doors and offer unique artistic experiences with a see-all-you-can-and-pay-what-you-can scheme. On its 15th year, the open house festival continues its two-part program, dubbed “Palihan at Palabas.”
The festival opens on Feb. 1 with Palihan, the “Experience-All-You-Can, Pay-What-You-Can” part of the festival. Registration starts at 6:30 a.m., at the CCP Ramp and Little Theater lobby.
For a suggested donation of P50, participants may go in and out of the different CCP venues to attend the 30-minute workshops in various art disciplines conducted by leading artists, resource persons, and teachers. Visitors can dance in workshops on hiphop, ballroom, folk dance, ballet for kids and adults, modern ballet and creative movement for teachers.
There will also be theater workshops on musical theater, children’s, teens and adult theater, playwriting, improv, storytelling, collaborative theater, and directing space. Then there are music workshops on classical guitar, rondalla, ukulele, percussion and Philippine musical instruments, and workshops on chamber music, solo singing, children and youth choir singing.
There will be two days of Palabas, with more than 3,000 artists from different art fields such as music, theater, dance, spoken word, and visual arts expected to participate.
On Feb. 2, performing groups and artists from Bulacan, Quezon, Boracay, Laguna, Cavite, Tarlac, Batangas, Bicol, Rizal, Pangasinan, and other provinces in the Philippines will take center stage.
The center’s resident companies — namely Ballet Philippines, the Philippine Ballet Theater, the Philippine Madrigal Singers, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group, Tanghalang Pilipino, the UST Symphony Orchestra, and the National Music Competitions for Young Artists — will preview their season’s offerings on Feb. 3.
Another highlight of the festival is the museum-hopping, featuring the various partner museums around the metro. This year, CCP has new museum partners: CSB Center for Campus Art and Calle Wright.
In partnership with the Museum Foundation, shuttles are provided to enable audiences to visit participating museums and galleries in Pasay and Manila including the Metropolitan Museum, Museo Marino, Museo Pambata, the National Museum’s National Art Gallery, the Museum of the Filipino People, and Museum of Natural History; the Intramuros Administration’s Casa Manila and Fort Santiago, Mono 8, Bahay Tsino, Destilleria Limtuaco, FDCP Cinematheque, Galleria Duemilla, UP Manila’s The Museum of A History of Ideas, Avellana Gallery, 98B Collaboratory, and NCCA Gallery.
There will also be film screenings, visual arts exhibitions in the various CCP galleries, an Arts Market at the Little Theater Lobby, and a bazaar in the South Parking area, among others.
The festival will culminate with a parade featuring the best of the best in the art community and performances of the CCP resident companies and guest artists.
Performances will be held in theaters, lobbies, hallways, promenade areas, the alley beside the Production Design Center. All venues are “zoned” according to the art forms and genres such as music, theater, dance, film, literature, visual arts, children and family, variety and the artists market.
Through the Pasinaya, the CCP aims to provide a platform for the artists to showcase their talents, nurture the public and create new audiences through interactions and performances. Over the years, the Pasinaya has become bigger and better, attracting more than 10,000 people, with approximately 52,000 audience viewership.
For inquiries, call the CCP Marketing Department at 832-3704 or 832-3706. Visit www.culturalcenter.gov.ph for more details.

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