Where to get papal visit souvenir items

It's not everyday that the Philippines gets a pastoral visit from the head of the Roman Catholic Church. To celebrate this "once-in-a-lifetime" event, a lot of the faithful look for items that remind them of the occasion. 

 

Here's a list of places where you can get memorabilia to remind you of Pope Francis' visit to the Philippines: 

 

Caritas Manila

The social arm of the Archdiocese of Manila Caritas Manila offers T-shirts for P180-P300 for the papal visit. They also sell umbrellas for P150 and rosary beads for P100. All of their proceeds will be used to sustain programs for the poor.

 

Contact 563-9311, 564-0205, 0999-7943455, 0905-4285001 or 0929-8343857 to order. 

 

 

Radyo Veritas 

 

Catholic radio station Radyo Veritas has a papal visit commemorative gift pack to all those who will donate P500 to the Radio Veritas Foundation Inc. 

 

The gift pack includes the following:
 

• Papal visit commemorative card 
• 30-day unlimited entertainment load powered by a video-on-demand for P250 
• Other commemorative items like the official papal visit T-shirt, foldable fan, and a hand-made wooden rosary bracelet
• Discount coupons from several participating consumer brands 

 

However, because of the huge demand, the gift packs are no longer in stock. But Radyo Veritas is already working on making the items available in major department stores. 

 

Jesuit Communications 

 

Jesuit Communications is known for its liturgical music. And for the pontiff's visit, they made an entire album for the first Jesuit pope. Titled "Mercy and  Compassion: Songs for Pope Francis," the 14-track  album features inspirational songs by Filipino artists like Aia de Leon, Noel Cabangon, Jett Pangan, Ebe Dancel, and Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle.  

 

To get a copy of "Mercy and Compassion," visit Jesuit Communications at Sonolux Bldg., Seminary Dr., Ateneo de Manila University. You can also call the Tanging Yaman store at 4265971 to 72 local 112-113, email tanging.yaman@jescom.ph, or visit the Tanging Yaman kiosk at SM Megamall. It will also be available in religious outlets and all Universal Records stores.

 

Philippine Precious Moments Collectors' Community 

 

Aside from the usual souvenir items, a gift shop in Makati has also created miniature Pope Francis dolls. 

 

Philippine Precious Moments Collectors' Community made a 12-inch Pope Francis doll that costs for P1,000. It comes with a doll box and a certificate of authenticity.

 

The doll has been available since January 1. To get your own piece, visit Precious Moments Manila Showroom in Makati, Precious Moments Lobby Shop in Century Park Hotel, and Jojo's Christmas Cottage in Aklan. For orders, reservations, and inquiries, contact (02) 887-5252 / 225-8332.

 

 

 

 

Philippine Postal Corporation 

 

The Philippine Postal Corporation has also released commemorative stamps to mark the visit of Pope Francis.

 

The collection features four designs selling at P10 each. 

 

 

Online stores 

 

For those who prefer to have their pope souvenirs delivered right at their front doorstep, many Philippine-based online stores such as OLX and AyosDito.ph also have a wide range of items that feature papal visit designs.   

 

Quiapo 

 

The papal visit also sparked the creativity of many small-to-medium entrepreneurs who made their own designs to celebrate the Pope's coming. 

 

Many street vendors in Quiapo have already started selling various Pope Francis-related items such calendars, T-shirts, and prayer booklets during the last quarter of 2014. — VC, GMA News

 

source: gmanetwork.com

 

World’s tallest floating Christmas tree lit up in Rio de Janeiro

The world's largest floating Christmas tree was lit in Rio de Janeiro Saturday (November 29), officially kicking off the holiday season in the beachside city.

Close to 200,000 tourists and locals flocked to the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon to watch the 542 ton, 85-meter-tall (279 feet) tree illuminate in a burst of color and lights.

The crowd itself lit up as a spectacular fireworks display coincided with the 19th annual tree lighting ceremony.

This year's theme was a "Christmas of Light" full of "wishes for all."

The tree is lit with 3.1 million micro light bulbs, 2,150 strobe effects, 120,000 meters (393,700 feet) of light hoses and 100 LED reflectors.

The base of the massive structure rests on 11 floats that form a 30 meter-by-30 meter (98 foot-by-98 foot) base to support the metal tree.

The annual celebration has become a mainstay for tourists who came out in droves along with thousands of locals who came to be part of the celebration.

"I loved it. It was marvellous, the show. Everything was lit up. It was perfect," Gilberto Luiz said.

"It was very exciting. It's a wonderful time of year of peace and togetherness and it's truly a celebration worth coming out to see… every year if you can," another spectator, Sueli Salles said.

The Christmas tree was first erected in 1996 and its lighting has become Rio's third biggest tourist event after Carnival festivities and New Year's Eve on Copacabana beach.

The Guinness Book of Records lists the installation as the world's largest floating Christmas tree. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Hello Kitty designer defends cute character as cat turns 40

HONG KONG - The flamboyant designer of Japanese cartoon and global mega-brand Hello Kitty defended the cute cat against new rivals Thursday as the character prepares to celebrate her 40th birthday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Hong Kong Book Fair, Yuko Yamaguchi took the concept of life imitating art to another level, wearing a Kitty-style strawberry dress with dyed auburn hair piled into two buns topped with a red ribbon—the cat's signature accessory.

As Kitty enters her next decade, she faces increasing competition from more cutting-edge cartoons like Brown and Cony, the bear and rabbit mascots of Tokyo-based messaging app LINE, which has taken Asia by storm in recent months.

But Yamaguchi insisted Kitty would cope with growing older in a digital age.

"There are new cartoon characters that are coming out daily... [but] I think Hello Kitty is the only one that can adapt to the changes in the world," Yamaguchi said.

The moon-faced mouthless white cat first appeared in 1974 on a coin purse in Japan and has since built up a worldwide fanbase, appearing on everything from handbags to sex toys.

Her image is licensed by Japanese company Sanrio, which says on its website that it makes more than US$5 billion dollars in retail sales each year. Hello Kitty is its flagship brand.

Yamaguchi, at the Hong Kong fair to tie in with its new Japan Pavilion, has been the lead designer of Hello Kitty since 1980 and promotes herself as the character's best friend.

"She is very motivated and open and wants to face the future," she says of the character.

There are plenty of detractors of Hello Kitty's sweetness—entire blogs are dedicated to tearing down the cute icon, with online spoofs depicting her like a horror movie character.

But Yamaguchi insists her appeal can endure.

"There are already three generations of fans that like Hello Kitty, so I hope that there will be more fans like that in the future, like people in a family loving Hello Kitty together," she said.

The main Hello Kitty 40th birthday celebrations will take place later this year, including the first ever fan convention, hosted in Los Angeles at the end of October. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Hot air balloon shaped like Rio’s famous Christ statue flies over Melbourne

The city of Melbourne woke on Tuesday to a vision of Rio De Janeiro's famous Christ the Redeemer statue flying over their city, with a message urging Australia's Socceroos fans to "#KeepTheFaith."

Local media reported that religious groups were not pleased with the stunt.

In a statement, Australian betting company Sportsbet.com.au—which flew the balloon—said, "Let's be honest, the Socceroos need some divine intervention to win a single match at the World Cup!" and urged Australian fans to keep believing in their team.

The stunt took aeronautical engineers, designers and seamstresses five months to get the balloon off the ground, with the final product being bigger than the real Christ The Redeemer statue in Brazil, Sportsbet said.

The balloon measured 46 meters high and was made in the UK, the betting company said. — Reuters

source:gmanetwork.com

Jeweller Graff unveils $55-mn diamond-encrusted watch

BASEL - British jeweller Graff unveiled Thursday what it described as the "most valuable watch ever created" -- a timepiece replete with more than 110 carats of diamonds costing $55 million (40 million euros).

Unveiled at the watch industry's biggest annual tradeshow, BaselWorld, the glittering wristwatch, called "Hallucination", is set with a multitude of rare colored diamonds.

Gemologists, designers and craftsmen had spent thousands of hours to get the watch right, said the jeweller.

"The Graff Hallucination is a sculptural masterpiece; a celebration of the miracle of coloured diamonds," said company chairman Laurence Graff in a statement.

"For many years I have thought about creating a truly remarkable watch that illustrates our all consuming passion for diamonds. The Hallucination has made my diamond dream a reality."  — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

12-year-old cancer patient designs crystal panel for NYC’s New Year’s Eve Ball

NEW YORK — Electricians working atop a New York City skyscraper on Friday installed the last of the 2,688 crystal triangles that give the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball its shimmer, including a panel dreamt up by Coraliz, a 12-year-old former cancer patient at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Each year, the intricate Waterford crystals that make up the skin of the huge orb are replaced with new pieces of glass.

This year's design features a kaleidoscopic pattern that will refract light in a splash of 16 million colors as the ball drops down a flagpole at the stroke of midnight. The ball is lit from within by 32,256 powerful diodes.


It takes Waterford craftsmen about a year to make the crystals used in the ball, Curtis said.

Bolting them onto the ball's metal frame takes two weeks. — Associated Press

source: gmanetwork.com

International art project paints colorful murals on Nepal's walls

KATHMANDU - Nepal's capital has been given a facelift thanks to a team of local and foreign artists who painted dozens of elaborate and meters-high murals on walls, some depicting social issues like child trafficking.

Gone are political flyers, movie posters and other advertisements slapped on some of Kathmandu's drab walls, replaced by colorful paintings, some as high as 25 feet (7.6 meters).

Some 60 artists have been involved in the project called "Kolor Kathmandu" which began in January and will culminate Thursday with the launch of a book of photographs on the murals.

"Kathmandu used to be a city of art and culture," said Yuki Poudyal, director of the project.

"But when I returned home after five years studying in the United States, I saw that it was bombarded with posters and negative visuals," said Poudyal.

The artists targeted the walls of public and private buildings, in a months-long project that features 75 murals on religious and abstract themes but also on some of Nepal's problems including caste discrimination.

Poudyal said the artists, from some 20 countries, have tried to represent Nepal's 75 districts in the paintings so that Kathmandu residents can "know stories from different parts of the country."

One mural shows girls displaced from their families, during annual flooding that occurs in Banke district on the Indian Nepal border, and falling into the hands of human traffickers.

Poudyal, who studied sociology at St Lawrence University in New York state, said she launched the project after drawing inspiration from street art in US cities like Philadelphia.

"Art like this was limited to the Western world. But now we have introduced it in Kathmandu," she said.

The project received financial backing from Prince Claus Fund, a Dutch charity, and artists were encouraged to apply to take part. Permission was gained from the buildings' owners before the artists started work on their murals, some of which took two weeks to complete.

"Curiosity is a hallmark of street arts and murals. People would stop and watch," the artists work, Poudyal said.

She said the murals also appear to have impressed the poster boys who slap flyers on walls around the city as well as graffiti artists, who have left the murals alone.

"Not a single mural has been painted over by someone. People seem to respect our works," she said. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com