What I Learned About NijiPop Culture Festival

It’s three days after NijiPop Culture Festival happened in Cebu. My good friend AGC has covered the event and told his story. I got friends from Cebu telling me stories, same as the people on Facebook and Twitter who have shared their stories from their POVs as well. I am about to listen to a diss track produced about this as well. I’ve read most of the tea, and I agree that this took the crown from ConQuest 2023 as the worst pop culture event the Philippines has seen. Nobody deserved bad event experiences. ...

June 19, 2024 · 10 min

ARCHCon Cebu 2023

Happy New Year! It’s the first time the keepsakes. website has been updated. To recall, I went to ARCHCon Cebu 2023 upon the invitation of my good friends at Ambox to talk to the guest artists, cosplayers and more. Here’s the full playlist of videos produced for the said coverage. Photos are also posted on Facebook (keepsakes. / VTuber NewsDrop)

January 3, 2024 · 1 min

Get Lit at the Bloc—Cebu Litfest 2023

My latest trip to Cebu was last-minute, but it sure did lead me to another great event, which is Cebu Litfest 2023 at the Ayala Malls Central Bloc at the heart of Cebu IT Park. I got a lot of cosplay photos on Facebook, plus a video featuring my good friends Gary and Lloyd who covered the 6200 Geek Con and Otakufest last year. Now for some photos that I’m sharing in this post: There was this one special booth where Sharreh dressed up in traditional attire. Happy to know that hours after taking this photo, her merch are sold out! ...

February 9, 2023 · 2 min

Otakufest 2021 goes online! 6 Days of Activities!

One of Cebu’s annual hobby events return for another edition - this time, it’s open to a wider audience! Otakufest 2021, the annual event usually held at SM Seaside City Cebu, will be holding its event online. This year’s program covers 6 Days of live streams and online workshops with local talents. Online Workshops on Zoom There are open workshops for everyone to witness! Catch SFX Make-up Artist Chey Adamson as she conducts an SFX Make-up Workshop on Day 3. ...

April 4, 2021 · 3 min

Cebu Hobby Events Organizers' Roundtable on May 30, 2020

Cebu, the Queen City of the South, has a thriving community of hobbyists - from Anime, Cosplay, Art and even Board Games. A friendly community where creativity, passion and fun is enjoyed by fellow hobbyists. The city is a host for a variety of hobby events which gathers hundreds - if not thousands - of guests coming not only from the Province of Cebu but also from places as far as Dumaguete, Iloilo, and even Manila! Events like the ones present today are not just for the locals but also for the tourists. ...

May 28, 2020 · 2 min

Otakufest 2020 Cebu: Eventually things fell into place

Last week, I visited Cebu for the fourth time to witness Otakufest 2020. It’s their 13th year holding the said event, and the second time that they will do so at SM Seaside City Cebu’s Maze Garden. I’ve thought long and hard if I’m supposed to push through with my fourth Cebu trip, and it turned to be like any Cebu trip I had in the past: It’s wild! It’s been a fun weekend spending time in the Queen City of the South. ...

February 29, 2020 · 5 min

Cebu's Otakufest 2020 on February 22-23 at SM Seaside City Cebu

Otakufest 2019 at SM Seaside City Cebu. Recently, Netflix got the rights to release 21 Studio Ghibli films in most territories. Speaking of Ghibli, what’s the next event to have that kind of theme? Cebu’s Otakufest. I am returning to Cebu for the fourth time to witness this year’s Otakufest, happening at the Maze Garden of SM Seaside City Cebu on the weekend of February 23-24, 2020. Previously, the venue is stated to be held at UP Cebu in Lahug, but due to the recent outbreak and scare of COVID-2019, the Otakufest team made big leaps to proceed with holding the event. ...

February 2, 2020 · 3 min

Ozine Fest goes to Cebu this May 18–19, 2019

Say it with me, mga bai: “Oh-zeen,” hindi “Oh-zayn.” Imagine a conversation between a group of people: “Tara, Cebu?” “G.” Now, imagine if this was the team behind the Ozine Fest series of events. This is probably how Ozine Fest Cebu was set. Otakuzine has been in the events (and the magazine) business for a decade now, and I believe it’s their first time that they will go out of town and into SM Seaside City Cebu’s Sky Hall this May 18–19, 2019. ...

April 10, 2019 · 2 min

“One Piece” Day 2019 for fans in Cebu

As of writing, the anime adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece has 876 episodes since its initial broadcast on October 20, 1999. That’s 19 seasons altogether. This series does not stop airing weekly for almost 20 years, and it still continues to bring joy to its fans. With that in mind, the second day of Otakufest 2019 at SM Seaside City Cebu (February 24, 2019) has been declared as “One Piece Day,” gathering cosplayers from around Cebu and nearby areas to participate. ...

March 7, 2019 · 3 min

Cebu City Otaku Journey 2019

#CEBUkeepsakes2019 features my first visit to Cebu’s Otakufest plus a visit to the recently-opened Moe Moe Kyun Restaurant To cap off my journey in Cebu from February 23 to 25, 2019, I’m making this post to share to you the content I produced: Podcasts We’ll start with the podcasts as these are the first ones that I processed (also probably the fastest): This may not count as Otakufest content but this marked my second trip to Cebu City. I’m with Serena of The Lily Cat in the airport when we recorded this episode. ...

March 7, 2019 · 2 min