2019 NATIONAL FOOD FAIR

Do you miss certain delicacies from your hometown or that sumptuous meal you had from your last out of town trip? Or maybe you are a dynamic player in the food industry and want to get the feel of what’s up in the Philippine food industry in 2019?

Then go ahead and visit the 2019 NATIONAL FOOD FAIR at the SM Megamall, Mandaluyong!

Image from DTI Philippines National Food Fair 2019 Event Page

                                                                                                                    The National Food Fair Philippine Cuisine and Ingredients Show is a yearly event held by the Department of Trade and Industry every March of the year since 2012. The fair is a special event that showcases varieties of local food products from different regions in the Philippines.

The event starts March 14, 2019 (Thursday) and wraps up on March 17, 2019 (Sunday). Daily hours of the fair are from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM.

        If hearing speeches is your thing, here is the programme:

1:30 PM - 2:00 PM	Registration
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM	Opening Ceremony National Anthem Prayer Welcome Remarks and Introduction of Keynote Speaker Keynote Address Ceremonial Opening	Usec. Abdulgani M. Macatoman Trade Promotions Group Sec. Ramon M. Lopez Department of Trade and Industry DTI Sec. Ramon M. Lopez USec. Abdulgani M. Macatoman Asec. Rosvi Gaetos Assistant Director Marievic Bonoan Guests
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM	Press Conference

            

          Otherwise, just go there and enjoy learning about Philippine cuisine, and of course food shopping!

Develop a New Weekend Habit with iVolunteer Philippines

Have you ever dreamed of doing volunteer works but don’t know where to go or what to do? I suggest you visit iVolunteer.com.ph.

The iVolunteer Philippines website is made by volunteers. It is a portal containing information about various institutions in the Philippines that need volunteers – in other words, organizations that need you!

Once in the website, all you have to do is to browse among various volunteering opportunities posted in the site, click on the advocacy and activity you like, and register. That's it! You can volunteer by yourself or in groups. The important thing is you should come once you register.

Here are some of the things you will like about iVolunteer Philippines: 

1. Updated list. Every week iVolunteer updates their page with new requests and schedules for volunteers for different institutions. Available slots remaining are also updated real-time so you know if help is still needed or you should go wait for another time.
2. The orgs in the portal are legit.
3. You can join for as many times as you like. At the same time you are not obliged to join all the time unless you pledge directly with your chosen institution.
4. No money is necessarily involved except for your own transportation and or food expenses and when extra funds are requested like sponsoring a child to an educational field trip, etc.
5. They recently held a Volunteer Expo! I went to this event held in Glorietta, Makati and saw the volunteers were serious with their work but they were all having fun!

What are you waiting for? Start your volunteering journey now that it is Araw ng Kagitingan! With them, you will have more options and worthwhile activities every weekend. :)

I would not miss having a photo with Jenny, one of the officers of iVolunteer Philippines.
I met her two years ago at the Dream Expo MNL.

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Related reads... 

How Busy People Are Finding Time to Care

Social Enterprise: Negosyong Makalipunan (English Translation)

The First Angat Pilipinas Awards Night!

I have just finished voting for my choices in the coming Angat Pilipinas Award! I have learned about this event from FitzVillafuerte thru one of his posts in Facebook. And after checking what the awards is all about, I decided to vote. After all, I am one of the many beneficiaries of all the free resources on financial literacy that abound on the web courtesy of individuals and groups dedicated to sharing financial knowledge to others.

The First Angat Pilipinas Awards Night! Please visit their site for further announcements. Click here.

The Angat Pilipinas Awards Night will be conducted by the Angat Pilipinas Coalition, "a global non-profit organization of active and former Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and personal finance advocates based in the Philippines who have bonded together as a support group to address issues, discuss concerns, and share knowledge on entrepreneurship, investment, and financial literacy in order to contribute to poverty alleviation and improve the quality of life in the Philippines."

Its First Awards Event will happen on April 16, 2015 while online voting ends on March 8, 2015! So cast your votes now in support not only of your favorite source persons or groups but also of the entire community of Filipinos who have the passion to help our countrymen and the Philippines to prosper. 

A Habit for Young Entrepreneurs

Sooner or later, young entrepreneurs especially those who create their own products, whether these are food or non-food, will find themselves joining fairs and bazaars. It is thus very advisable to visit and get a feel of  events like these before actually joining as a seller in one. You can check out the busy hours, how sellers react to multiple buyers buying at the same time, the packaging of products similar to yours, the sales and marketing pitch of fellow sellers, the buying behaviors of customers, etc. Honestly, no matter how many online materials about fairs and selling you have read, nothing beats going to a trade fair and seeing how bazaar works personally. So whether you are ready to join or not, make it a habit to visit these trade fairs. And Christmas season is the best time to do just that.

One upcoming event is the 10a Alabama Handmade Arts and Crafts Fair.

This will happen on 12 noon of November 10 to 7PM of November 11, 2012. 

Here is the map for your guidance and you can click on this link https://www.facebook.com/10aAlabama
for further details.

Remember though that you will go there not to copy ideas but just to observe how joining bazaar works and of course to get motivated to become more creative with your own products. And because it is also an ideal time for Christmas shopping, why not buy and support our fellow crafters, too.

I got this very inspiring photo from facebook of Travel Finds Shop about buying from small local entrepreneurs:

And oh, by the way. Don't forget to like our facebook page Elle Goes Into Business at Facebook .

I will announce there several discount schemes for the opening of my business on November 15.

Thank you very much!

:-)