MassKara 2026 opens more space for local businesses

BACOLOD CITY — While the MassKara Festival celebrates the resilience of the people behind its vibrant masks, this year’s edition is also positioning the event as a major economic platform for local entrepreneurs, food concessionaires, ambulant vendors, businesses, and corporate partners.

During a press briefing Tuesday, Festival Director Rodney Mitz Ascalon said the festival should create an experience that extends beyond entertainment and generates meaningful opportunities for the people and businesses that make up the city.

“MassKara is not only about how many events we can put together. Our aspiration is to make it matter. And it matters when the celebration creates opportunities for our local entrepreneurs, vendors, businesses and communities to participate and benefit from the festival,” he added.

Now in its 47th edition, the MassKara Festival will run from Oct. 1 to 18 under the theme “Share the Smile, Celebrate Gugma.”

This year’s celebration is opening hundreds of opportunities for businesses of different sizes through designated food parks at the Bacolod Public Plaza and Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC), a 2.3-kilometer Lacson Tourism Strip, and dedicated lanes for ambulant vendors.

The public plaza and BCGC food parks will accommodate food concessionaires, including 17 concessionaires at the plaza and seven at the BCGC.

Each kiosk will occupy a 10-by-10-foot space, and participating concessionaires are required to secure fully paid kiosks and comply with operational requirements.

Ingress for the food parks will run from Sept. 28 to 30.

Egress will begin at 3 a.m. on Oct. 19 and continue until noon.

The Lacson Tourism Strip, envisioned as a business hub, will feature food and beverage establishments, local businesses, entertainment, corporate activations, kiosks, and festival attractions.

The strip will also feature six major stages.

About 250 food and corporate kiosks are expected along the full stretch, creating additional spaces for entrepreneurs, commercial establishments, and corporate partners to participate in the festival.

Each kiosk will consist of a 10-by-10-foot tent equipped with a 40-ampere electrical supply, one light bulb, and one outlet.

Registration is open until Sept. 30, while the payment deadline is Oct. 2.

For small and microentrepreneurs, designated ambulant vending lanes will provide opportunities to showcase locally made products, crafts, handmade items, and other merchandise to thousands of expected festival visitors.

The Araneta Ambulant Lane will accommodate 41 dry-goods vendors and 41 food concessionaires.

The Gatuslao Ambulant Lane will have 30 mixed-use vendors offering Muslim products, fruits, and food.

The Panasiatic Ambulant Lane will accommodate 30 vendors selling assorted items and food.

The BCGC Annex Ambulant Lane will have 23 food concessionaires.

The Rizal Ambulant Lane will provide 20 spaces on the right side for MassKara souvenir sellers and another 20 spaces on the left side for vendors of assorted products.

The BCGC Front Area, or Fountain Area, will also have 24 kiosk spaces available for food concessionaires.

Selected peddlers selling balloons and other small items will likewise be accommodated.

Dubbed “First Peek,” the city government launched the 2026 MassKara Festival at Roy’s Hotel and Convention Center on Sept. 11.

The 2026 celebration features an expanded lineup of cultural, entertainment, sports, food, music, dance, pageantry, and community activities aimed at making the festival more accessible to Bacolodnons and visitors.

MassKara traces its origins to the early 1980s, when Bacolod and Negros faced a sugar industry crisis and the tragedy of the M/V Don Juan sinking, circumstances that helped shape the festival’s enduring theme of resilience.