Festival draws tourists, celebrities
THE 22ND National Furniture, Furnishing and Fashion Festival at the Greenhills Shopping Center on Ortigas Ave., San Juan City considered the biggest assemblage of furniture makers and traders in the country, continues to draw hordes of local and foreign tourists as well as celebrities since its opening last March 13.
Aside from finding the widest array of unique furniture items from cabinets and sala sets that are reasonably-priced, these shoppers have also discovered under one roof the largest collection of furnishing and fashion items. These furniture items come from known furniture makers and traders in Betis, Pampanga, Mountain Province, Southern Tagalog and Bicol region, Cebu, Bacolod, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato and Zamboanga.
The 25-day festival which will run until April 6, has around 1,500 stalls run by tianggeros, importers, mall suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers and factory owners. Other items available at the stalls are jewelry, leather goods, footwear, arts and crafts, food and other novelty items.
Conceived in 1993 by event organizer Prime Asia Trade Planners and Convention Organizers (PATEPCO) headed by Henry G. Babiera, the festival has transformed the upscale image of the center into a shoppers’ mecca in the tradition of Divisoria, sans the congestion and hassle of the latter.
Meanwhile, from the festival, shoppers are invited to take a breather by visiting Las Farolas, the country’s state-ofthe-art museum of river monsters which boasts of over 3,000 freshwater fish varieties collected from various parts of the world. Inaugurated last April, 2013, the facility, which has a new set of exotic freshwater fishes this summer, has become part of the itinerary of local and foreign tourists as well as educational institutions from Metro-Manila and the provinces. Located on Frontera Drive beside Tiendesitas on Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City, Las Farolas is open from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM on weekdays and 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM on weekends and holidays. For inquiries, please call its Chief Operating Officer, Bernie Jalandoni Repalbor, 5717634-35 or visit its website: www.lasfarolas.com