Shangri-La Plaza welcomed the first day of December with an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony, a concert and performance by top names in entertainment.
All this was set in a whimsical, circus setting—this year’s Yuletide decor of the mall in Mandaluyong.
Compared to last year’s typical holiday motif—a mall overrun by cheerful reindeer figures—this year’s theme is not outrightly Christmas.
The playful circus theme has mannequins of jesters and acrobats gamboling in hoops and trampolines. Vibrant red, blue, and shining gold dominate the festival theme, with hot-air balloons suspended from the Grand Atrium ceiling.
The 50-ft-high Christmas tree towers at the entrance, decked with heads of lions and horses, balloons, gift boxes. The tree is festooned with yellow lights, the attention to detail staggering.
Jugglers, magicians
To complete the carnival-circus feel, there were performers on stilts and unicycles, to the absolute glee of children and adults alike. Jugglers and magicians roamed the mall.
“Circus is a place where everybody goes and comes out happy,” said Shangri-La Plaza EVP and general manager Lala Fojas to explain this year’s decor. “The theme is very fitting because Christmas is a happy time—a big association of happy, joy, and playfulness in the circus and Christmas, so we thought this would make a good theme this year.”
The sense of whimsy, playfulness and joy was palpable in that Christmas tree lighting, with performances by Mark Bautista, Jonalyn Viray, Esang de Torres, Ody Sto. Domingo, the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet and the Mandaluyong Children’s Choir conducted by Sebastian Trinidad.
There are activities lined up this month.
There’s the Cine Europa Dec. 6-15 at the newly revamped Red Carpet, formerly the Cineplex. There are school concerts by St. Theresa’s College, St. Paul, OB Montessori, Ateneo, and others. The Philippine Medrigal Singers will also perform Dec. 23.
There’s also the Rev Up Your Style raffle where mall guests can win a 2018 Mini 3-door Hatch Cooper, a 2018 Mini Convertible Cooper S, and six 2018 Vespa S125. –CONTRIBUTED
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