The Philippine Arts Festival (PAF), the largest showcase of Philippine arts and culture, in connection with National Arts Month, will formally open on Feb. 6, 5 p.m., on the Marikina River Banks.

Earlier on Sunday, Sayaw Pinoy, the dance component of PAF, formally opened at the Luneta.

The perennial theme of PAF is “Ani ng Sining.” Subtheme this year is “Celebrating Icons.”

The festival is spearheaded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) under chairman Felipe de Leon Jr. and executive director Emelita Almosara.

University of the Philippines-Los Baños will host this year’s Cinema Rehiyon, the flagship project of the National Committee on Cinema headed by Mike Rapatan, Feb. 5-8. It will spotlight regional films and gather regional filmmakers.

The National Committee on Architecture and Allied Arts led by architect Gerard Lico will be holding Archi[types/text], which features different exhibitions, book launches and film screenings on Philippine architecture.

An exhibit on mosques, “Masjid: Jewels of Filipino Islamic Faith,” will be launched at the University of Santo Tomas Museum on Feb. 5.

An exhibit on Filipino landscapes, “Hardin: Filipino Landscape Architecture in History,” will open on Feb. 6 in Far Eastern University.

Archi[types/text] will also launch the book “Istilo: Guide to Architectural Styles in the Philippines” at the Negros Museum on Feb. 19.

A conference on architectural research and education will be held in Bicol University Feb. 7-8. The film documentary “Lunan: A History of Filipino Built Environments,” about the evolution of urban planning, interior design and landscape architecture in the Philippines, will be screened on Feb. 4 and 18 at the University of the Philippines Theater and SM Iloilo, respectively.

Sayaw Pinoy

Sayaw Pinoy will tour in Pampanga and Bulacan on Feb. 1; Olongapo City, Feb. 2; Baguio City, Feb. 7-8; Zamboanga del Sur, Feb. 8-11; Ozamis City, Feb. 11-12; Saint Pedro Poveda, Feb. 13; and Dumaguete, Feb. 15-16.

It will go to Resorts World on Feb. 16; Roxas City, Capiz, Feb. 18-20; Medina and Ginggoog, Feb. 22; Butuan City, Feb. 23; Surigao, Feb. 24; Technological University of the Philippines, Feb. 18-22; Bohol, Feb. 25-27; and Adamson University, Feb. 27.

Sayaw Pinoy will hold dance performances at the Luneta during Concert at the Park on Feb. 3, 10 and 17.

Sayaw Pinoy is organized by the NCCA National Committee on Dance headed by Shirley Halili-Cruz.

t0204ccp-nam_feat6_2 — INDIGENOUS peoples use bamboo as musical instruments.

Visayan literature will be the focus of this year’s Taboan Literary Festival led by the National Committee on Literary Arts headed by Christine Godinez-Ortega. Taboan will be held in Dumaguete City, Feb. 7-9.

Tanghal

The Philippine Visual Arts Festival will be held in Pagadian City Feb. 7-11. It is organized by the NCCA National Committee on the Visual Arts headed by artist Nemesio Miranda.

The first International Gongs and Bamboo Music Festival will be held in Dipolog City Feb. 16-21.

The event will be graced by different gongs and bamboo musicians from the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The music festival is organized by the NCCA Committee on Music headed by De Leon.

Tanghal, the flagship project of the National Committee on Dramatic Arts led by Lutgardo Labad, will unite regional and university-based theater organizations from different parts of the Philippines.

t0204ccp-nam_feat6_3 — Nemesio Miranda in an on-the spot painting session.

Tanghal will be held at Bicol University in Legazpi, Albay, on Feb. 26-27, and at Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro, Feb. 13-16.

On Feb. 18-20, Tanghal will be staged in the National Capital Region; on Feb. 26-27 in Bohol.

There will be an international gathering of theater people, Likha Asya 1, on Feb. 27-March 2 in Bohol.

Call PAF media director and NCCA Public Affairs and Information Office head Rene Sanchez Napeñas at 5272192 or 0928-5081057; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.ncca.gov.ph.