No one proves that youth is nothing but a state of mind quite as well as Butch Carungay does. For his birthday, the darling designer of Avatar Accessories and inarguably Cebu’s premier partyphile decided to forego his usual bar haunts and opted to celebrate at St. James Amusement Park, which his guests had all to themselves for the night.
The invitation cheekily rhymed and read, “It’s that time of the year to channel Benjamin Button, so I thought it appropriate to celebrate in proper fashion. Let’s booze up while driving bumper cars, and make the amusement park feel as if we were in bars.”
The promise of a chance to relive not only their youth but also their childhood had even the most jaded party-goers come flocking.
Amusement park fare
Derek and Mary Anne Arculli decided to be kids with their kid, bringing along daughter Jasmin, while new mom Jaja Rama and young couple Pazu and Meg Eteve intentionally left the kids at home so they could drink and drive (bumper cars, that is) all through the night.
Before they took to the rides, guests were treated to a spread of amusement park fare with mini burgers, fries and funnel cakes on the menu. Downed with a glass of Veuve, these ones tasted even better than you remembered them from your childhood. Acrobats and fire dancers also took to the stage with performances so impressive, more than one guest was overheard asking the birthday boy, “Where’d you find these guys?”
En route to the rides, the revelry continued with cotton candy stalls and satellite bar stations that ensured guests were dizzied up for the even more dizzying rides ahead.
When Butch asked his guests the following day if they all had a CarniBlast, we knew it was obviously a rhetorical question and wondered how he would top this novel idea of a boozed-up carnival when it is time to channel Benjamin Button again next year.
Book on furniture trade
After 60 glorious years, Cebu’s renowned furniture trade finally has a book about it. Charles Streegan, president of Pacific Traders and Manufacturing Corp., one of the city’s leading furniture manufacturers, and ArtPostAsia, have published a 300-page coffee-table book celebrating the local furniture industry. It’s aptly titled “Cebu Furniture: A History of Inspiration and Innovation.”
Chronicling the industry’s beginnings and evolution, the book follows the personal and trailblazing journeys of those who have brought the industry to where it is today, highlighting the iconic pieces and innovative use of local raw materials that have put Cebu on the world map as a leading source of cutting-edge design and high-quality furniture.
Latest hotspot
The book was fittingly launched on March 12 at Gilt artisan lounge and cocktail lab, Cebu’s latest evening hotspot. Its owners, Jay Chiongbian, Lani Pasquet and Delphine Delorme, have established the place as a design hub for local Cebu artists and designers to display their work.
Lani, who also designs and manages her father’s company specializing in exotic skin and shell accessories and furniture, La Galuche, did a tremendous job making the pieces featured in the book come to life with her uncanny eye for mixing and matching classic, modern and whimsical pieces in one playful, comfortable space, allowing guests to fully experience and appreciate the coveted pieces such as Debbie Palao’s Pout lounge chair, Vito Selma’s Ikebana 3-seater sofa, Carlo Cordaro’s Tropea armchair, Marguerite Lhuillier’s River of Harmony centerpiece and Pride Sasser’s Art Deco mirror.
Cebu’s leading furniture manufacturers, designers and friends of the arts, such as Mehitabel’s Josephine Booth and her son Bob and his wife Tamsin, Paul and Janice Minor, Nature’s Legacy’s Pete Delantar, Dedon’s Vince Lampert and Paul and Graham Maitland-Smith, fawned over their favorite pieces on display, and caught up on the industry’s latest chitchat over delicious tidbits whipped up by local culinary wizards Joe Mike Lontoc and Lor Torres.