You only turn a sparkling 60 once, and that happening, dahlings, for our inimitable, dazzling personality, our very own Lulu Tan Gan, turned out to be a surprise bash secretly prepared by her daughter, adorable Jessica, and her close pals Fifi Wong and Xandra Rocha-Araneta. Jessica and Lulu’s husband, hunky, good-looking Josef Gueta, spent the day distracting Lulu, giving Fifi and Xandra a full hand for the super surprise.
A week before Lulu’s birthday, Jessica decided to surprise her busy-as-a-bee fashionable mom by gathering those dearest to her. Lulu had originally planned to have a big bang aprés enjoying the fun birthdays of Margie Moran and Lilibeth Campos. When the day grew closer, she decided to just organize a few lunches with her different groups of pals to celebrate. However, Jessica, who is as stubborn as her mom, decided to do a “surprise” happening and gather a chosen few on her special day.
Generations, palangga, came together for Lulu. Caught unawares, she walked into her own home in her signature “knit attire,” tunic knit vest over her casual ensemble, in canary yellow and pink.
Her guests included her close-close timeless pals ace photographer Alex Van Hagen, Zelda Kienle, Mayenne Carmona, Lilibeth Campos, Jojo Zabarte and Frannie Jacinto; her travel buddies like Berta Feliciano, Chi Chi Lizot and Gina Aboitiz; and her childhood friend Mitos Benitez from Baguio, who came down to be there for her birthday with her best friend Noelle Reyes. From the fashion world there were Joey Samson, Ivar Aseron, Rajo Laurel, Nix Alanon, Tessa
Prieto-Valdes, Malu Gamboa and Dennis Lustico.
Friends of all ages and generations came to greet Lulu a happy birthday, and she got the surprise of her life!
Yes, that’s the reason why, from way back, when she was just beginning, I gave her the title, “Lulu Tan Gan, our very own Knitwear Queen,” and she sure has come a long way since then, palangga.
Happy, happy birthday to our queen for years to come! Cheers, my palangga.
Dinner by the beach for international sailboat racers
For ages, I’ve been a lover of regattas, during the days when everything took place at the then Manila Yacht Club or in Batangas.
Well, now, dahlings, the spirit of the regatta lives on. “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” reached the country’s coastlines (thank goodness) through a rousing, totally fun welcome dinner for the participants and partners of twin sailing events—the sixth Standard Insurance Subic Bay to Boracay Race and the prestigious Boracay Regatta Cup, competitions supported by the Tourism Promotions Board’s “Visit the Philippines Year 2015” (VPY 2015) campaign.
Organized by Saturday Afternoon Gentlemen’s Sailing (SAGS)-Subic, the event had invitees enjoying cool alfresco dining by the beach at The Lighthouse Marina Resort.
SAGS-Subic chair Ricky Sandoval, SAGS cofounder and The Lighthouse Marina Resort president Jun Avecilla, and the races’ scrutineer Jeremy Simpson welcomed the assemblage of skippers, sailboat owners and sailing enthusiasts. Cultural performers provided entertainment, as guests and organizers celebrated the start of the twin events “that have earned their preeminence in the Asian Yachting Grand Prix Circuit.”
Participants included top sailors from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, proof of the organizers’ success in promoting another area “to entice visitors—nautical tourism. Starting the race in Subic Bay provides the advantages of safe facilities. This is more than matched by the windy conditions in Boracay that make for an exceptional racing experience,” said Ricky Sandoval, to the wild applause of approval.
Without batting an eyelash, “the Subic Bay to Boracay Race 2015 and the Boracay Cup Regatta, with the full support of the Tourism Promotions Board, help bring in more sailing enthusiasts and foreigners to visit the Philippines and experience its many wonders, including the warmth and hospitality of the Filipino people,” said Jun Avecilla.
At the end of the bash after days at sea, the men and some of their ladies rocked and rolled the sands at the clubhouse to their hearts’ content, with flowing booze and champagne.
Leave it to our regatta men, who totally know what real partying is all about, dahlings.
To find out more about the lineup of exciting events in the Philippines, visit the VPY 2015 microsite (www.visitph2015.com).
Friends for Cultural Concerns of the Philippines
Well-known philanthropist and dedicated charity worker and everyone’s darling Nene Leonor, past president of Friends for Cultural Concerns of The Philippines (FCCP), together with her hardworking officers and members of the board, got together at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) to admire the plaque displayed at the lobby.
It was dedicated to the work of Nene Leonor and her ladies during her term as president, who donated a cool P1,800,000 for the much-needed renovation of the restrooms at the first-floor lobby.
FCCP is a “Titanium” donor, as written in the plaque. Titanium means “the biggest donor up to the present to the CCP under President Raul Sunico.”
Now, that’s really a woman of substance and stature, palangga, who cares.