CCP Pasinaya Festival 2025 expands and embraces all

The Philippines’ largest multi-arts event, Pasinaya: The CCP Open House Festival, returns bigger and better this year with new components and an expanded audience reach. The festival, on its 19th staging, will take place on 1 and 2 February at Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in Pasay City and various locations. With this year’s theme, “CCP Pasinaya 2025 Open House Festival: Para sa Lahat!” (CCP Pasinaya 2025 Open House Festival: For All!), it aims to engage audiences from all walks of life, inviting them to explore, support and celebrate the dynamic and flourishing art scenes across the country.

The CCP Pasinaya Festival will also serve as the kickoff event of the 2025 celebration of National Arts Month, in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), setting the stage for a month-long fete of Philippines’ artistic offerings. It will showcase Filipino artists and foster a deeper appreciation on how the arts shape the nation’s identity and cultural landscape, connect communities, inspire innovations, and safeguard traditions.

Last year, the festival extended its reach to other parts of the Philippines. Sattelite events will again be held in Iloilo City, Iloilo, with the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art, and Tagum City in Davao del Norte with the Musikahan sa Tagum Foundation Inc. This is in partnership with the networks of the CCP Kaisa sa Sining.

This year, the festival will be in more sites with its new regional partnes, including the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone in Pampanga, in collaboration with the Clark Development Corporation; the province of Batangas: Himamaylan in Negros Occidental; and Sorsogon City in Sorsogon.

In Metro Manila, the CCP Pasinaya Festival will happen in multiple venues such as Circuit Makati, the Manila Metropolitan Theater, Intramuros, Aliw Theater and various partner museums and galleries.

“The CCP Pasinaya has always been a celebration of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of the Philippines. As we mark its 19th edition, we are excited to expand the festival’s reach and bring more inclusive, accessible, and engaging experiences to audiences across the country. With new regional partners and innovative components like Palaro, Pasinaya 2025 promises to be a grander, more vibrant showcase of Filipino artistry for all to enjoy,” said CCP president Kaye C. Tinga.

Favorite sections — Palihan, Palabas, Paseo Museo, Palitan, Pagtitipon, and Pamilihan — bring together artists and art groups and individual artists from across the Philippines. They will offer over 200 performances, workshops, and other activities.

In Palihan, the public can participate in different workshops conducted by leading artists, resource persons and experts. Palabas is all about performances featuring the CCP resident companies such as the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, Bayanihan, the National Dance Company, the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group, and the Philippine Madrigal Singers, as well as professional, amateur, and community-based artists and art organizations.

Meanwhile, Palitan is an arts market where pre-registered participants can pitch their concepts and projects to prospective producers from here and abroad, while the CCP Kaisa sa Sining regional network members gather together in Pagtitipon. Paseo Museo gives audiences a hop-on-hop-off tour of the partner museums and galleries in Manila and Pasay.

A new feature in this year’s Pasinaya Festival is Palaro, which will feature the final outputs of the CCP Game and Comics Development Grant awardees that showcase Philippine mythology and folklore, iconic Filipino heroes, Philippine landmarks, puzzles and story-driven adventures. This component will let participants experience live gameplay demos, participate in tournaments, and explore developers’ creations.

“The addition of Palaro to this year’s CCP Pasinaya is a groundbreaking step in celebrating the intersection of art, technology and creativity. By featuring the innovative works of the CCP Game Development grantees, we are highlighting the immense talent and potential of our Filipino creators in the gaming industry by providing them a platform to showcase their craft. Palaro offers a fresh and exciting experience for our audience, making CCP Pasinaya 2025 even more dynamic and inclusive. Truly it is ‘para sa lahat,’” said CCP vice president and artistic director Dennis N. Marasigan.

With its “see-all-you-can, workshop-all-you-can, network-all-you-can and pay-what-you-can” scheme, the CCP Pasinaya Festival expects an audience of over 50,000. In 2024, the festival attracted 45,347 attendees in six venues in Manila, Iloilo and Tagum. It collaborated with 26 embassies, partnered with 17 museums and galleries, engaged 142 performing groups and artists, and featured 44 Pamilihan vendors.

Established in 2005, the CCP Pasinaya Festival was conceived to showcase previews for its upcoming productions for the year and to celebrate National Arts Month. Through the years, it has grown to include multiple features and become a major cultural event of the country.