GMA Pinoy TV remained true to its mission of bringing Filipinos abroad closer to home in a series of successful 120th Philippine Independence Day celebrations (PIDC) all over the world in June.
Actress Carla Abellana kicked off her birthday month in the US as she flew to San Diego, California for the “Mabuhay Festival” held at the Kimball Park National City on June 2. Not only was she warmly welcomed during her song numbers, the audience even sang her a Happy Birthday song complete with a cake that was brought on stage.
One of the highlights of the show was when a standee of her boyfriend, Tom Rodriguez, was brought out which prompted screams of kilig from the audience.
During her stay, Carla visited Sweetwater Union High School where she met National City Vice Mayor Albert Mendivil. She also took the opportunity to connect with the community and the youth by giving an inspirational talk about life, success, failures, and love.
Simultaneously on June 2, Kris Bernal and Rocco Nacino provided fun and entertainment at the “Pista sa Nayon: Philippine Independence Day Festival” at the Vallejo Waterfront Park, California. Rocco began the GMA segment with a couple of song numbers, while Kris went all-out with her dance performance. After the show, several Kapuso abroad lined up to take photos with both of them during the meet-and-greet portion.
Rocco, who flew to Hawaii for a family vacation after the festivities in Vallejo, also had a radio interview with the Filipino-Hawaiian Radio Station KPHI (96.7 FM/1130 AM) which aired on the Midday Radio Show with Allan Alvarez. Kris, on the other hand, went to Los Angeles to visit her family and paid a courtesy visit to the Philippine Consulate where she met with Deputy Consul General Ambrosio Brian Enciso III.
On June 16, All-Star Videoke duo Solenn Heussaff and Betong Sumaya bannered the “Pinoy Fiesta and Tradeshow sa Toronto,” the biggest indoor Filipino fiesta in Ontario organized by the Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation (PCCF).
The event had a parade, various booths of sponsors, and beauty pageants wherein Solenn and Betong awarded the winners. Later that night, Betong engaged the audience with comedic acts, while Solenn sizzled in her sexy song numbers. The tandem’s performances wrapped up the fun-filled day of entertainment which left the Kapuso abroad wanting more.
Right after, Solenn and Betong had a meet-and-greet with lucky fans and subscribers of two of GMA Pinoy TV’s official carriers in Toronto, Bell and Rogers.
Capping off the eventful series was Dingdong Dantes who headlined the “Pagdiriwang 2018” last June 24 in Singapore. The celebration, which was held at the Kallang Theatre, 1 Stadium Walk, was organized by Filipino volunteers and spearheaded by the Philippine Embassy and SingPhil Events. The jam-packed day of activities embodied the vibrancy of Filipino culture with pageants, cultural dances, booth activities, singing contests, parades, and many more.
Dingdong opened the show with a lively Eraserheads medley and danced with his fellow Pinoys. Some members of Race2Share Singapore joined the Kapuso star on stage as he performed his rendition of Aegis’ iconic song ‘Halik’. The crowd went wild when Dingdong was surprised with a standee of his wife, Marian Rivera-Dantes. After the program, the Kapuso royalty, who is always a crowd favorite, spent time with his kababayans during the meet and greet session.
Earlier in May, GMA kicked off the Independence Day celebrations in the Middle East where Kapuso stars Christian Bautista, Solenn Heussaff, Betong Sumaya, Migo Adecer, Divine Tetay, and Dennis Trillo joined back-to-back festivities in Dubai and Jeddah.
The successful string of festivities in North America, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific were made possible through the exclusive media sponsorship of GMA Pinoy TV as it continues to provide world class entertainment for the Kapuso abroad.