Bacolod collector opens iconic Christmas village for MassKara fest

Bacolod City’s iconic Christmas Village is now open to the public. (CARLA GOMEZ / INQUIRER VISAYAS)

BACOLOD CITY — This city’s iconic miniature Christmas Village opened two months ahead of schedule for the MassKara Festival this October.

The silver anniversary of the village, located at the ancestral home of artist Bamboo Tonogbanua at San Juan Street in Bacolod City, was celebrated on Saturday, October 8.

“The village first opened in 1996, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was closed for two Christmases, that is why its silver anniversary is only being marked this year,” said Tonogbanua, who also celebrated his birthday on Saturday.

The six original houses where the Christmas Village first started have been moved to a 4×4-meter room to give them more prominence. They have also been repainted in pastel colors. In addition, both their bedroom and backyard have been given a complete makeover to look festive for the holidays.

Bacolod City’s iconic Christmas Village is now open to the public. (CARLA GOMEZ / INQUIRER VISAYAS)

The rest of the magical Christmas village is located in an eight-meter by 10-meter room filled with thousands of miniature houses, structures, people and other ornamental objects.

Among its other new additions is a Christmas tree in the middle of the room decorated with wooden toy soldiers and a busy Santa Claus climbing up and down a ladder.

A much larger Bethlehem village, complete with a nativity scene at its center has also been added to the village, to emphasize what Christmas is all about.

Festive Christmas music continues to play from all corners of the room and tiny blinking lights illuminate the houses, carnival sites, restaurants, churches, ski areas, historic places, and stores in the village.

It also has a section filled with characters from Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and houses and historic landmarks representing almost every part of the world.

Bamboo Tonogbanua stands beside the six refurbished original houses of his Christmas Village in Bacolod City. (CARLA GOMEZ / INQUIRER VISAYAS)

Tonogbanua has collected the tiny objects in the village during his travels to foreign lands; others are gifts from friends and strangers who want to share in the joy of Christmas.

The village undergoes design upgrades every year, so there is always something new to surprise visitors who have seen it before.

As a boy, Tonogbanua was fascinated by pictures of festive snow-covered villages and Santa Claus on Christmas cards, which have been his inspiration in his 25-year Christmas village journey that has brought joy to thousands of visitors.

Visits to the village are only allowed by appointment as the COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet, Tonogbanua said.

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