Hall M: A First-Ever Marvel Showcase in Asia Launched at AsiaPOP Comicon

Wazzup Pilipinas!

AsiaPOP Comicon Manila 2016 (APCC Manila) — touted to be the biggest three-day pop-culture extravaganza slated on August 26 to 28 at SMX Convention Center in Pasay City — will unveil Hall M, a showcase of Marvel content in the fields of gaming, television, and movies.

Universal Events and Entertainment, the organizer of APCC Manila, has tied up with Marvel for this exclusive, first-of-its-kind showcase at any convention in Asia. Hall M is expected to excite fans as nothing gets geeks' blood pumping like the word 'exclusive'.

Imagine sights, sounds, and all other spectacles one might see and hear ahead of the rest of the world, or awesomeness the rest of the world may never see or hear. It's this thrill that makes people wait long hours, endure snaking lines, and try to secure slots by hook or crook.

 “As a group we enjoy a global strategic alliance with Marvel on multiple fronts and so we are glad to be able to extend our partnership by offering never seen before Marvel content to die-hard fans and geeks in the Philippines. This will be first-of-its-kind Marvel showcase at a pop culture convention and visitors will be able to witness an epic exhibit of multiple surprises at this year’s AsiaPOP Comicon Manila.” said Abdulla Mahmood, Director - Marketing and Business Development of Al Ahli Holding Group (AAHG). Universal Events & Entertainment is a subsidiary of AAHG.

Fans will be treated to never-before-seen footage outside of San Diego Comic Con of Marvel’s upcoming Doctor Strange film at APCC Manila’s Hall M, including content from Marvel’s television and web series. Hall M is limited up to 1,000 attendees.

For C.B. Cebulski, Marvel's Vice President of International Development & Brand Management, he said, "I'm thrilled to be coming back to APCC Manila this year! Given the overwhelming fan response to last year's Captain America: Civil War trailer debut, Marvel is letting me bring even more fantastic footage with me, this time from all of our different divisions, to showcase at our extended ‘Hall M’ extravaganza! Some clips being shown for the first time! It's all still a secret, but just know that Hall M is guaranteed to be a one-of-a-kind Marvel experience in Manila!”. Cebulski is returning to APCC Manila this year to once again scout the best artistic talent in the country.

APCC Manila 2016 tickets are now available via SM Tickets—made possible by its partner SM Group—with ticket prices PhP550 (one-day pass), PhP850 (two-day pass), and PhP1,050 (three-day pass). All these will give the ticketholder access to stage activities, performances, and the main show floor. The event is free for children aged five and below for all days, but a valid identification is required for verification purposes before entering the show floor.

For more information and event updates, please visit www.asiapopcomiccon.com/manila and official Facebook Page facebook.com/apccmanila.  

Geeks on a Beach 4th Event to be Held on August 25-26 in Panglao, Bohol

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Geeks on a Beach (GOAB), the international tech and startup convention will have its fourth run in Panglao, Bohol, Philippines this August 25-26, 2016.

“Geeks on a Beach” (GOAB) is a unique international conference featuring the cutting-edge of the tech world in a laid-back atmosphere. With the theme “Empowering startups, leading change”, GOAB4 will once more highlight communities of startups or innovation-driven enterprises based on software or apps, which have seen remarkable growth in the Philippines in the last few years. GOAB has greatly contributed in empowering Philippine startups.

“We are looking at startups taking the lead in strategically leveraging opportunities offered by a bigger regional market of ten countries with some 617 million people and a combined GDP of US $2.1 trillion opened up by the Asean integration,” said Mon ​Ibrahim​, Innovation Consultant, Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT).

Organized by TechTalks.ph and the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) and co-presented by PLDT SME Nation, Ideaspace, PLDT Innolab and SmartDevNet, the 4th annual GOAB gathering will be held at the Bellevue Resort Hotel in Panglao, Bohol, Philippines.

Some of the brightest minds in the industry from the USA, Singapore and other countries will be on hand at the 2016 GOAB. Invited to speak in the confab are Techstars Co-founder and Managing Partner David Brown, Startup Weekend Co-founder Marc Nager, Chris McCann of Greylock Partners, Crowdsourcing Week Founder and CEO Epi Ludvik Nekaj, ​500 Startups Managing Partner/Investor Khailee Ng, 500 Startups Corporate Innovation Director Arnaud Bonzom, Zalora Philippines Managing Director Constantine Robertz, PLDT SME Nation Head of Community Partnerships Francis Oliva, Ideaspace.ph Managing Director Diane Eustaquio, ​TechTalks.ph Chief Content Officer Robert Cristobal, Citrix Principal UX Designer Philip McKay, and STAC Silicon Valley President Cristina Laskowski.

Tina Amper, founder of TechTalks.ph who has been instrumental in conceptualizing GOAB said those who are into digital technology, web design, and innovation should not miss this opportunity to learn about the latest developments in the industry and meet the key players in the tech startup world.

“The Philippines’ remarkable work-play environment complemented by the famous Filipino hospitality and a unique cultural mix of East and West makes it the natural cultural doorway to the ​ASEAN​ for geeks and investors alike,” said Amper.

GOAB is held in partnership with Bohol Provincial Government, Tagbilaran City, HappyGaraje, Sym.ph, and PR Works. This year's official airline partner is Philippines AirAsia. Silver Sponsors are Zalora, Mynimo, Teradoor, PouchNation, A Space and Infocomm Investments, while Bronze Sponsors are Yoyo Holdings, Payoneer, Eurekloud, USAID-STRIDE, Eastern Communications, RTI International, Piktochart, Office of Senator Bam Aquino, Department of Tourism, Launchgarage, US Embassy, Microsoft and StarTechUp Inc. Major organizational partners areInternet.org by Facebook and FbStart. GOAB organizational partners are Philippines Software Industry Association, National ICT Confederation of the Philippines, UP CebuInit.org, CedFIT.org, Game Developers Association of the Philippines, Digital Commerce Association of the Philippines, Developers Connect, STAC Silicon Valley and GoNegosyo. Media partners are Auza.Net, Tech in Asia, Geeks in Cambodia, Hubnob.tv, InnoPub Media, Mytechisland.com, Zerothreetwo.com, Jumpstart Magazine, Mobile Ecosystem Forum, Asian Journal Publications, Balikbayan Magazine, Innovation is Everywhere, e27, Newsdesk Asia, Wazzup Pilipinas, Escooped.com,Istorya.net, Expat Philippines, PayPerClick.ph, TopTen.ph and Our Awesome Planet. GOAB founding sponsors are Smart, Smart Bro, Smart Devnet, Ideaspace, Mynimo.com, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, STAC Silicon Valley, Islands, Istorya.net, GT Cosmetics, Chef on Demand and Ng Khai Development Corporation.

Internet.org by Facebook will be hosting the “Happy Hour” closing party on the last day of the 2-day event. Facebook will present Internet.orgin one of the GOAB special sessions on Thursday. Internet.org’s mission is to make the world more open and connected by developing a range of solutions to address connectivity barriers such as accessibility, affordability and awareness—in hopes that one day, everyone will be connected.

GOAB participants include a mix of software professionals, developers, designers, startups, tech/startup enthusiasts, business professionals, investors, the government, academe and various organizations supporting the innovation community in the Philippines.

“We are excited to have this fruitful collaboration with Internet.org by Facebook. We are happy that an initiative by a startup that has really made it big has gone out of its way to help GOAB empower other startups,” said Dave Overton, GOAB Chief Geek and Founder/CEO of Sym.ph.

For more information, to sponsor or purchase tickets, visit, www.GeeksOnABeach.com; or contact Hello@GeeksOnABeach.com. Facebook: Geeks On A Beach and Twitter @GeeksOnABeach.

Shoot, Eat and Run at The Bistro Group of Restaurants

Wazzup Pilipinas! 

Citibank and Zomato recently organized a food run at 12 Bistro Group of restaurants for foodies. The food run featured feasting on the many appetizers, starters, salads,  and other delightful dishes of  all 12 Bistro Group of restaurants at selected branches namely 6 in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Tagig city, 2 in Greenbelt in Makati city, and 4 at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) complex in Pasay city.

The food run is part of the promotional effort of the companies to invite Citibank cardholders to take advantage of the 30% off on selected Bistro Group of restaurant dishes. This is also to encourage non-Citibank cardholders to avail of the credit card if they want to experience the unique gastronomic adventure too.

Citibank has been known to offer their clients superb deals and this is just one of their many perks for their valued cardholders.

Shoot, eat and run - for we had to visit 6 restaurants per half day starting at 2 pm. This happened for two days making it a total of 12 restaurants of the Bistro Group. Needless to say it was a heavenly food coma where I would gladly keep sleeping if it will go on for more than two days. I'm excited for a similar food run in the coming days....and knowing Zomato, they would surely repeat this gastronomic adventure.