Stuck at home like most of us for Halloween? Well, we found three activities for you—each not only geared to supply the scares but also enrich your knowledge about Manila’s history, heritage and architecture. Now if stepping out this weekend is what you’ve been looking forward to, we also have a couple of frightful (but hopefully fun) suggestions.
First, there’s Tales of the Tsinoy Underworld, A Virtual Tour of the Manila Chinese Cemetery. The tour is co-presented by the travel group Old Manila Walks and noted Manila tour guide Ivan Man Dy. It will “walk” audiences through the history of the famed burial grounds as well as World War ll memorials. The virtual tour will also, as per Man Dy, touch on “the old sections of the cemetery with eclectic funerary architecture from Chinese Gothic to Art Deco mausoleums.”
3:00 PM | 30 October | Saturday
Live exclusively on Zoom
Fee: ₱300.00
📝 Register at https://bit.ly/TalesTsinoyUnderworld
For questions, email chinatownmuseumph@gmail.com
From the Chinese Cemetery, hop onto Rizal Park which isn’t all balloons and weekend picture-taking as you may know. It has its own dark past, and that’s what Luneta After Dark promises to explore in this online night tour of the park. Benjamin Canapi of WanderManila, a group that specializes in bespoke tours, will guide guests to the different execution sites in this famous family-bonding destination.
7:00 PM | 31 October | Sunday
Catch it on the National Parks Development Committee Facebook Page
Last year’s One Night in Intramuros was so much fun that WanderManila is at it again. Before it explores the dark side of Rizal Park on Sunday, the group will be traversing the dark histories of Manila’s iconic places and structures: the Philippine General Hospital for one, the Arroceros Forest Park, and the Malacañang Palace no less. “Manila's history has its share of violence and blood, of strife and death, and these acts echo well into the present, manifesting in various ways,” says the invite. “The smell of flowers when there are none, the mysterious footsteps in an empty building, the shadowy figures at the corner of your eye.”
9:00 | 30 October | Saturday
Catch it on WanderManila's Facebook Page
Absolutely free.
Now for those who would like to step out of their homes for a change, the National Parks Development Committee is staging a rare tour of historic Paco Park with a paranormal expert on hand. This photogenic park is famously the spot where the priests Gomez, Burgos and Zamora were buried, although younger people might remember it as the setting for John Lloyd and Bea’s romance in “Miss You Like Crazy.”
According to the NPDC Facebook post, this tour is limited to 15 fully vaccinated participants (18 to 65 years old) per tour day who will register online.
6:00 | October 30 and 31 | Sat and Sunday
Individually fill out the registration form here: https://bit.ly/3bfhW4P
Finally, for those who just want to be in Luneta this weekend and watch a movie, catch a public screening of the restored and remastered crowd pleaser “Magic Kingdom” from Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes, directors of the most beloved episodes of the “Shake, Rattle and Roll” franchise.
The screening is limited to 100 fully vaccinated participants (18 to 65 years old) per screening day who will register online.
6:00 PM | Oct 30 and 31 | Sat and Sunday
Rizal Park Open Air Auditorium