Family Weekend Bonding at the Grolier Fair in Ali Mall

If you’re up for some great family fun this coming weekend, look no further! Kids and parents are in for a world of exciting activities that stimulate learning at the grand launch of the Grolier Carnival Fair at Ali Mall, Araneta Center in Quezon City.

Grolier International Inc. brings a colorful set-up at Ali Mall, which will feature a spacious play area, a reading corner and drawing area, plus a creative challenge corner where kids could unleash their artistic talents.  There are even free balloons for everyone, and a fantastic balloon-twisting show that would surely leave everyone in awe!

Guests would get to be the first ones to meet the Talking English Mascot, who will teach basic dance steps to the tune of various nursery rhymes.  For a minimum single receipt purchase of P 500.00 from Ali Mall food, and retail shops, Grolier will also offer a book and child development program briefing for free.

In-home learning expert Grolier International Inc. is a subsidiary of Scholastic, the world’s largest book publisher and distributor of highly successful children’s books like Harry Potter, Geronimo Stilton and Thea Stilton, and many others. Grolier has been providing high-quality educational and interactive materials for educators and young learners in the Philippines for over 50 years, as well as in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and India.  

The Grolier Fair at Ali Mall is one of their biggest and grandest events to date, intended for children and parents to engage in fun learning activities that would encourage love for reading, and maximizing kids’ learning potentials.  

The Grolier Fair runs from October 13-15, 2017, 10am onwards at the Ali Mall Skywalk, located at the Upper Ground Floor. Entrance is free.

For more information, visit www.aranetacenter.net, or its social media pages @thearanetacenter.   

Tingin ASEAN Film Festival runs at Shang Cineplex from October 11 to 15

Wazzup Pilipinas!

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Philippines’ membership to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the country's chairmanship of the ASEAN in 2017, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts will hold the Tingin ASEAN Film Festival (Southeast Asia through the Eyes of Cinema) at the Shang Cineplex, Shangri-la Plaza, Mandaluyong City from October 11 to 15. 

The film festival attempts to draw a composite picture of modern Southeast Asia by bringing together exemplary contemporary films from the ASEAN region. It also aims to hold up a mirror to our many struggles and triumphs as people living in the margins, left of center.

Tingin will screen notable ASEAN films like "A Yellow Bird" (Singapore), "Ilo Ilo" (Singapore), "Golden Slumbers" (Cambodia), "Ang Damgo ni Eleuteria" (Philippines), "Dearest Sister" (Lao PDR) and "Kayan Beauties" (Myanmar), among others. These films each tell a particular story about their origin countries and gathering them in the festival consequently hopes to map out the different facets of the region. 

Some of the directors of these award-winning films, such as K. Rajagopal (Singapore), Remton Siega Zuasola (Philippines), Mattie Do (Lao PDR) and Aung Ko Latt (Myanmar), will be present during the screenings for Q&As with the audience.

The event will also include daily forums on the future of film distribution and an overview of contemporary Southeast Asian cinemas led by Dr. Arminda Santiago, Prof. Patrick Campos and award-winning documentary filmmaker Babyruth Villarama-Gutierrez. 

Admission to the screenings and forums is free and open to the public. The festival begins at 1 p.m. and the last screening starts at 8 p.m. 

Tingin is being organized by the NCCA in cooperation with its partners ASEAN, CulturAid, Shang Cineplex and Shangri-la Plaza. For questions and inquiries, please contact Tingin marketing coordinator Ginny Mata at 0917-5296133 and ginny.mata@gmail.com. Check out the Tingin ASEAN Film Festival Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TinginASEANFilmFest) for the complete schedule and more information.

CNN Philippines Airs Special Report on Princess Diana

Love, loss, fairytale and tragedy. Princess Diana lived a life in the public eye, with every move photographed and scrutinized. But two decades after the tragic car crash that took her life, there are still compelling questions about how she lived and how she died.

CNN Philippines explores the majesty, misery and mystery of Diana’s life and shocking death in a new two part special, Diana: Chasing a Fairytale. Reported by CNN’s award-winning senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward, Diana: Chasing a Fairytale Part 1 will initially air on October 14, Saturday at 8pm while Part 2 will air on the next day, October 15, also at 8pm.

From London to the French Riviera and Paris to the U.S., Ward explores little known moments on Diana’s lonely journey to the palace and reveals intimate details about the last days of the life of a woman whose vibrant legacy lives on.

Diana: Chasing a Fairytale features revealing interviews with many of Diana’s closest friends and people around her that fateful night in Paris – some who have never spoken before – including Xavier Gourmelon, fireman and first responder to Diana’s car crash; Sir Scott Baker, coroner who led the British inquest into Diana and Dodi Al Fayed’s deaths; Patrick Jephson, Diana’s former personal secretary; Dr. James Colthurst, childhood friend of Diana’s; Paul Burrell, Diana’s former butler and close confidant; Roberto Devorik, fashion designer and close friend of Diana’s; Pierre Suu, photographer who was outside the Ritz hotel and took some of the last pictures of Diana and Dodi before they died; Ken Wharfe, Diana’s longtime bodyguard; Lord John Stevens, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner who led Scotland Yard’s three-year investigation into how Diana and Dodi died; and many more.

Twenty years on from her death, what more do we know about the crash that also killed her companion, Dodi Al Fayed, and Henri Paul, acting head of security at the Ritz who was driving when the car crashed? Investigations in both France and Britain concluded it was an accident caused by high speeds and an intoxicated driver, yet conspiracy theories continued to surface for years.

Diana: Chasing a Fairytale will replay on CNN Philippines free TV Channel 9 on October 26 and 27, November 11 and 12, and November 23 and 24. In addition to the TV airings, the special will also stream live via Facebook (facebook.com/cnnphilippines) and on cnnphilippines.com