TREE PLANTING MARKS OPENING OF MANILA COFFEE
The Manila Coffee Festival 2024 opened recently with a ceremonial tree planting of a Batangas cacao criollo sapling at the Urban Farm site at Newport World Resorts (NWR). NWR president and CEO Kingson Sian led the ceremony along with Department of Agriculture High Value Crops Development’s Ricky Dela Cruz, Agency for Valorization of Agricultural Products (AVPA) Paris head of studies Alphonse Pignan, AVPA Paris juror and coffee specialist Charlène Cabioch, The Coffee Heritage Project executive director Rich Watanabe, Specialty Coffee Association Partnerships director for Asia-Pacific Kyonghee Shin, Acapulco cacao farmer Marvin Lopez, and Federation of Sulu Coffee Industry Cooperative coffee farmer Abdurahman Abani.
Manila Coffee Festival 2024 introduced 10 new sources of coffee beans to the “Single Origin Bar” that delighted coffee lovers with a taste of homegrown coffee, brewed four different ways. The event also inaugurated the first “Cacao Alley” that featured cacao growers with their produce and products. This year, more than 10,000 festival goers filled the MGBx Convention Hall across the three-day weekend, marking the coffee lifestyle event a success.
Just as every bean has a story, from its fruitful history to the labor of its growers, so does the country. During his segment in the signature “KapeTalks,” a series of discussions centered around coffee and culture, Sian championed authentic Filipino stories.
“Philippine culture and heritage must be at the forefront of development,” Sian said, emphasizing the importance of passing down stories from one generation to the next. Held from March 15 to 17, Manila Coffee Festival 2024 brought forward the stories of the country’s unsung cultural heroes, Filipino farmers.
Alongside this endeavor, Newport World Resorts serves as a home for an award-winning sustainability program, I Love Earth (ILE), that springs the Urban Farm site, and for original Pilipino musicals including the upcoming Buruguduystunstugudunstuy: Ang Parokya ni Edgar Musical.
For more information on Manila Coffee Festival, visit www.newportworldresorts.com/manilacoffee-festival-2024 and follow @newportworldresorts on Facebook and Instagram, and @nwresorts on Twitter.
Sign up for an Epic Membership or download the Epic Rewards Mobile App for free at the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.