walking with sunshine: ALDUBNation Festival

Friday, May 12, 2017

ALDUBNation Festival

Photo by @antonyostark

I wrote about my ADNFest 2016 experience here. I was lucky to be one of the organizers and I still couldn't believe we were able to pull that event off with just two months of preparation.

I realized I haven't actually blogged about our ADNFest experience as organizers other than what I wrote for our site. So here's a more detailed telling.

T-24 Hours

our rooms

On Sat, Oct 15, OrgComm members checked into Microtel with out stuff. We occupied two rooms together with the paraphernalia that we needed for the event.

We spent the afternoon walking around MOA trying to finish some last minute tasks when we learned that the Coke bottles that were supposed to be picked up from the warehouse was not available. The truck that one of our ADN friends hired to pick up the product went home empty handed. It was panic mode for us as we needed that for the participants. All we could do was sit down and panic for a few minutes.

I then called my contact and she was apologetic about the whole thing. She said that she'll get back to me. After a couple of hours, she called me and said that we will be able to pick up the drinks at a nearby warehouse and I only have two hours to do so. I swear, the fans of Alden and Maine are one of the resourceful and generous people that I have ever met. We sent out a tweet about our dilemma and we received numerous offers to use their vans/cars and whatsoever. It was bayanihan to the finest. In the end, it was one of our OrgComm members that was able to pick up the bottles by hiring a jeepney. We all literally breathed a sigh of relief.

By the way, did I mention that I was almost 5 months pregnant when this happened?

Being pregnant, my orgcomm-mates told me to stay in the hotel and get some rest for the big day. They had to fix the hall and handle the ingress so they were there most of the night. I think they got back at the hotel room at around 3 or 4 in the morning.

D-Day

We were very nervous when we woke up as a storm battered Manila the night before. I heard the rain and wind hitting the window and it was nerve wracking. We stormed the heaven with prayers hoping that regardless of the weather, we will still have a nice turnout.

So after a filling breakfast, we hurried off to SMX. I was pleasantly surprised to see the set-up. The screens were a nice touch too as the venue was so big it will enable the people at the back to see what's happening on stage.

The production team was currently on stage rehearsing as well as the singers. I just walked around and checked the booths as well as the registration area.

I also went outside to check the line and it was snaking around the SMX building. It require people to come in at 10AM so they can register and claim their wristbands and loot bags. They would then need to return at 1PM so they can enter the venue and the program can start.

View from the entrance

Entrance of the hall (really love our logo)

Speaker of the House

I was elected by my Orgcomm mates to be the spokesperson of the group. Though I'm used to speaking in front of people (I was a teacher), ADNFest was the biggest group that I ever addressed (more than 2000 people!). Thinking about my speech kept me up a few nights but I eventually ended up ditching it and speaking from the heart.

ang ganda niya! pramis!

Prior the program, I was asked to be interviewed by GMA News. I was too surprised to say no and if you ask me now, I can't recall what I said. They did get a soundbyte though which was shown during 24 Oras.

The start of the program was hosted by Nicole Hyala and Chris Tsuper--radio DJs. It was during my speech that Maine apparently arrived at the holding room. After my speech, we hurried off to the second floor.

Meeting her was so surreal. A few months before the event, I already had my chance encounter with Alden when I saw him at St. Luke's BGC. Even had a picture taken. But I never had an encounter with Maine so seeing her there in front of us just made me burst into tears (I blame my pregnancy hormones). Actually, we all started crying when we told her how we came up with the event and how some of the attendees flew in from abroad and even from the Visayas and Mindanao.

ang iyakin na OrgComm

I also met the director of their first movie, Imagine You and Me. Direk Mike Tuviera.

After a few minutes, we asked her if she's ready to go down. She mentioned that she wanted to go around and meet the fans. I was worried as the hall is humongous and there were 2000 people there but she was insistent. So after coordinating with security, I lead the party to the elevator where I even managed to be included in one of Ram David's elevator selfie.

The Main Event

When Maine entered the hall, the energy of the hall suddenly jumped. Everyone started screaming and it was a good thing that our security guys were on top of everything. She tried to go around the hall but the crush of people was too much that she was whisked off to the VIP area.

So she stayed there with us while the Clingy Bunch performed and fan-made AVPs were also shown. And when Alden arrived, all hell broke loose. He performed one song from his album, said a few words and he and Maine walked around the hall trying to meet as much people as they can.

my selfie with Maine

my selfie with Alden

Meng and Alden onstage

Maine and Alden with ADNFest OrgComm

Love this picture taken of my moment with Maine

With Leysam, Alden's handler

The Aftermath

We monitored social media regarding ADNFest and we were touched and surprised with some posts that we found. It was so heartwarming to see all the kind words.