ALL roads lead to Quezon City this weekend of October 11 and 12, 2014, as Quezon City gears up to celebrate its 75th anniversary.
The grandest and highly anticipated cityhood anniversary commemoration to date, the Diamond Jubilee celebration will see the entire Quezon City community, composed of six districts, staging festivities in their respective districts in active participation. Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista has already delivered his State of the City Address a few days ago, and several activities have kicked off the month-long celebrations, such as the Our Lady of the Rosary La Naval de Manila Novena Masses, a Senior Citizens Walk in Quezon City Memorial Circle, a 75th Q.C. Diamond Jubilee Scout Jamborette, the crowning of Ms. QC Diamond Jubilee in the person of Shecill Bagaporo, and the unveiling of the QC Diamond Jubilee Coffeetable Book, Commemorative Coin, Commemorative Stamps and QC Mural of History.
But the celebration hits full gear this weekend and street revelry takes its liveliest form as Quezon City makes a countdown to the Diamond Jubilee with a Grand Diamond Salubong tomorrow, October 11, with marchers and dancers from each district going all out in friendly competitions. There will also be concerts, street parties, and fireworks displays in various locations spread all over Quezon City—Quezon Memorial Circle (District 1), Roosevelt-Del Monte (District 2), Sandigan Bayan (District 3), Araneta and Anonas (District 4), Maginhawa Street and Tomas Morato (District 5), and Quirino Highway and Mindanao Ave. (District 6).
Speaking of Maginhawa Street, which is fast emerging as the new restaurant hub of Quezon City, foodies from all over Metro Manila are expected to flock to the Maginhawa Street Food Festival that’s taking place tomorrow, October 11. Once a quiet neighborhood, Maginhawa Street and its peripheral streets has in recent years transformed into an interesting food hub where neighborhood cafés and small restaurants offering their own food specialties can be found. Foodies constantly looking for new gimmick places and havens for good food have ‘discovered’ Maginhawa Street and turned it into an almost overnight foodie sensation.
Now recognized as an important destination for food tourism, Maginhawa Street takes the spotlight this weekend, with House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Quezon City Herbert Bautista and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte leading the formal inauguration of the newly developed Maginhawa Street tomorrow morning (October 11) to open the Maginhawa Street Food Festival. This will be followed by a walk through the foodie destination, from Masaya Street to the TV East Covered Court with Ati-Atihan and marching bands. A short program takes place at the TV East Covered Court to officially open the Maginhawa Street Food Festival.
Games of Flour Relay, Tug of War, Basagan Palayok, Minute to Win It Ping Pong, Bite the Bag Relay, Cherry Pie Game Relay, Tissue Box Pop and Grand Pabitin follow. Then it’s free for all the rest of the day, dotted with games and live entertainment provided by bands.
The highlight, however, of the Maginhawa Street Food Festival is food. Lots of food. The whole Maginhawa Street neighborhood, stretching more than 2 kilometers, will be closed to traffic. The small restaurants in the area will put up food stalls along the street to offer affordable but delicious bites. Entrance is free for everyone who wants to check out the food, and major food sponsors of the food festival will be giving out free food samples.
The neighborhood of Maginhawa Street is lined with an interesting mix of restaurants, ranging from cafes to high-end turo-turos, milk tea shops, noodle houses, grills, steak and burger joints, health food and beverage stores, and desserts places. Among these are Hillcrest Wellness Café, which specializes in pastas and sandwiches; Roasterrific, known for its all-natural Lechon (roast pork) with preservative-free sauces, the lutong-bahay hub Jek’s Ku-bo with its famous Sinigang na Ulo ng Salmon sa Miso and Bulalo, RBy’s Steaks & Shakes, owned by sisters Rowena Vera and Bernadette Acuña and offers an awesome selection of gourmet burgers and Philly cheese steak sandwiches plus luscious shakes; Snow Crème, a desserts place that serves Taiwan style Snow Ice desserts, milk teas and blended juice drinks; and The Daily Jusa, which specializes in juice therapy and offers fresh juices and healthy salads.
Everyone — the Maginhawa Street restaurant owners, the Quezon City government, and foodies from all over Metro Manila — are already excited about the Maginhawa Street Food Festival and will converge at the hottest new place to be this weekend. Join us.
