Verekai Experience

When I was a kid, my dad took me and my brothers to see Holiday on Ice at the Araneta Colloseum.

[That time there were just 3 of us, my brother John, Tatus and myself. Our youngest sibling Frank, was not yet born nor conceived.]

We were seated at the bleachers. It was sooooo far away from the stage, that the performers appeared to be just a few inches tall.

Lucky for us kids, back then, we all had 20-20 vision. Plus our dad remembered to bring a set of binoculars, which allowed us to get a better view of things.

That time, I was amazed to realize that they could actually turn the floor into ice. We marveled at the performances and the beautiful costumes they wore.

After that experience, my dad came home one day with a set of roller skates.  He challenged me and my brothers to learn how to skate.

We definitely took the challenge. We skated on concrete pavement around our house, on our street, and on mom’s wooden floor during rainy days. My mom kept on warning us, “Watch out, watch out! Don’t hurt yourself.”

Speaking of shows and performances, my husband and I had a chance to see Varekai. The show brought me back to my Holiday on Ice viewing experience. This time, we were not at the bleachers.

OMG, it must have been my lucky day!  Out of the blue, we were approached by one usher, and asked if we wanted to transfer to seats closer to the stage at no added costs. Oh Yes!

We watched with great awe, and wished that we had more sets of eyes. There were performers everywhere! The tickets were quite pricey, but it was really worth it. We were there on a weekday performance, yet the show hall was packed with people. 

[I had to switch on my charm and convincing prowess to make my husband agree to see the show. I’m actually repaying it with 39 sets of home cooked office lunches and snacks. Strictly no eating outside!  My current count says, that I still have 22 yummy lunches to serve!]

The crowd during the show was a very good and well mannered one. We were requested to turn off our mobile phones, and everyone did. Cameras were not allowed inside that show area, and it was strictly followed. There were just 2 or 3 persons who tried to take photos. The ushers were very quick to politely remind people that taking photos was not allowed.

Yep, there was standing ovation after the performance! That was  what we gave back to the performers.

If  I were to wish upon a star, I’d wish that many more big and small pinoy kids alike will have the opportunity to watch the show.

 My first glimpse of these structures gave me a picture of fiesta fun. In my mind, this was exactly how I have  always pictured the circus -- just like in many foreign movies.

The venue was located just across the Quirino Grandstand. Wow, it was such a pleasant transformation of a vacant lot!

Inside the show hall, the seats were arranged just like they have pictured it online.

The make of the Varekai venue reminded me of the clam shell structures that they set up for the Wow Philippines project. I was sort of expecting mono block seats. To my pleasant surprise, the seats seemed to be specially made for the circus.

Likewise, the stage and everything around it were wonderfully designed. I just loved the “instant holes on the floor” which served as dramatic and even humorous exits during performances.

We purchased our tickets online The organizers also provided ticket booths within the compound to accommodate last minute viewers. Perhaps our old seats were given to these last minute viewers. Aha, so the saying is true, “The early bird catches the worm!”

As the showtime neared, people started to go inside the circus tent. 

Pinoys as we are, there were people who stopped to have their pictures taken in front of this Cirque Du Soleil banner. As they say, “When you’re in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

 Two great circus fans. Big kids are us!

This is what the inside of the circus tent looked like. Food stalls were also available. There were kiosks selling souvenirs. [Oppsss… sorry not in photo]

Souvenir program booklets were sold for Php 200. After the show, people lined up to get a copy.  While they were doing so, I wondered, “Hmm.. if I saw Varekai in another country, say New York., will the souvenir program will come for free?”

Nah, I didn’t buy a souvenir booklet, but I scanned through it.   I’m relying on goodie-goodie Mr. Google to tell me more.

But, if there was a chance at all to have the souvenir booklet autographed … then that’s another story.

Oh yes, there were even elevated toilets available. Nope, they were not the portalet kind. They were much better – just like a regular toilet.  I remember washing my hands at the lavatory. Best of all, there was water coming out from the faucet, and there was tissue paper!

Amazingly, there were enough number of toilets to service all the viewers. How did I know? Well, we didn’t have long queues during the show break.

Let me end this post with the following Varekai presentation:

varekai