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| VIEW FROM THE ENTRANCE |
I went to SM North Edsa last May 17 to do some window-shopping. I parked my car on the fifth floor of the Main building and was on my way to Book Sale when I heard all this loud, wild screaming . When I say loud, I mean LOUD! Loud enough for the screams to be heard from the fourth floor. I was curious as to what was going on, so I went to the source of all the screaming. It turns out the screaming was coming from the third floor. Hundreds of fans --- most of them female --- had come to celebrate this event called the Grand Fans’ Day, which was organized in their honor by the local publishing house, Precious Pages Corporation.
A number of SM’s security guards
milled around to make the area was a safe place for the fans to enjoy their
special day. When I arrived, the fans
were cheering for some of their peers, who were trying to out-act and out-emote
each other, quoting lines from books made by their favorite romance
authors. I couldn’t help but laugh,
yell and clap along with the fans, who really seemed to be having so much
fun. Their enthusiasm and enjoyment
were really infectious, and I observed that even the people who were just
passing by couldn’t help but also smile at what was going on.
I think the winner(s) of that
game were given Precious Pages gift certificates. I also saw raffle prizes being given out, while the fans enjoyed
the snacks Precious Pages handed out.
There were a number of
audio-visual presentations during the program, which included a
presentation/contest called “Who’s the Biggest PHR Fan?” Wow.
I’ve always known that Pinoys were romantics at heart, but I didn’t know
just how romantic they were. Turns out there are actually Pinoys out there
who collect Precious Pages' romance books.
And when I say collect, I mean, COLLECT by the hundreds and thousands!
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| FANS IN "BEST ACTRESS" MODE AS THEY "ACT OUT" QUOTABLE QUOTES FROM POPULAR PRECIOUS HEARTS ROMANCES |
If I’m not mistaken, this lady
who won the “Biggest PHR Fan” contest was this lady who had more than a
thousand Precious Hearts romances in her collection. Wow. That’s a lot of
money to be spent on romance! I think
she was gifted by an I-Pad2 by the company president, Segundo Matias, Jr.
There were people who volunteered
to display their musical talent during the event, such as the Eugenio Lopez,
Sr. Foundation Rondalla (I hope I got the group’s name right), and two
ladies/fans (one sang while one played the guitar). These numbers were given a polite, grateful reception by the fans
… but if you want to know what the word “WILD” means, you should have seen the
fans’ reaction when this video flashed on screen. It was a teaser of sorts to announce this line of fragrances
(called Stallion), which I understand is based on the names of popular Precious
Pages characters/heroines. The screams
were definitely louder this time, and you should have seen how these fans
scrambled for a vial sample of these fragrances. You’d think they were scrambling for gold! I was almost afraid a stampede would occur,
the fans were that enthusiastic.
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| THE EUGENIO LOPEZ, SR. FOUNDATION RONDALLA |
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| YES, PRECIOUS HEARTS FANS CAN SING, TOO! |
But if you really want to know
what “WILD!” sounds and looks like, then you should have seen what happened
when a number of the Precious Hearts romance writers came onstage. The fans were screaming so loudly for their
favorite authors, you’d think they were screaming for artistas! I didn’t know these writers were so popular.
The Precious Hearts romance writers that I
saw was a bunch of very young women (probably in their twenties to thirties),
who all looked very average, except that the people screamed upon seeing
them. If the fans took the time to see
them, it was obvious these writers took their time to look their best for their
fans. They were well-dressed,
well-mannered, somewhat overwhelmed but very, very delighted at the show of
support for their work.
When it was time for the “Meet
and Greet,” you’d swear it was Election Day all over again, given the number of
people that scrambled in line so they could meet their favorite authors and
have their books autographed by them (come to think of it, there was no line,
just a sea of people!). Meanwhile, the
other younger/less senior writers milled around and chatted with the other
fans, signed the books the fans had brought and had their pictures taken with
them.
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| ONE OF PRECIOUS PAGES CORPORATION'S NEWEST ROMANCE AUTHORS |
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| THE LAST DAY OF FILING INCOME TAX RETURNS? NO. ELECTION DAY? NO. FANS LINING UP TO MEET THEIR FAVORITE PRECIOUS HEARTS ROMANCES AUTHORS? YES! |
I also noticed that their host, a
young, attractive, charming guy was also receiving his fair share of
attention. He apparently had a fan base
of his own, given the way the people reacted to him --- asking for his Facebook
account details so they could connect to his network, asking for his autograph,
having their pictures taken with him, kissing him … well, if he’s not an artista,
I won’t be surprised if he becomes one pretty soon, given the way the people
responded to him!
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| THE HOST, WHO CAPTURED THE FANS' HEARTS THAT DAY --- WHAT A NICE GUY! |
It was at this point that I went
on my way to do what I had planned on doing.
Well, guess what? I made my way
to the parking lot and passed the same area an hour or two later and the lines
had actually grown LONGER! (I wonder
what time they finished).
I was really impressed by
Precious Pages’ grand gesture of love to its fans. You don’t see many companies doing that, thanking their readers
for their support. I also noticed the
show of unity among its employees. Each
one of them wore a black Precious Pages Corporation shirt; even its president,
who was so low-key and unassuming, you wouldn’t think he was the president
until he was called to the stage. You
don’t get to see many presidents like that!
And he and the employees all looked like they thoroughly enjoyed seeing the happiness on their
readers’ faces. How cool is that?
Perhaps, the company could
consider having more than one designated area for the Meet and Greet the next
time it holds such an event, so the fans won’t be converging in one tiny area
(and looking like a bunch of voters in a tiny precinct at the peak hour of
elections). I think it was great that
the other writers milled around and chatted with their fans. Maybe the senior writers could also do that
for their fans. And if the company
wants to give out samples of their products, maybe they can do that as the fans
enter the venue, right before the program starts. That way, there wouldn’t be a near-stampede, and everyone would
focus more on the program.
While I’ll never totally
understand why people would go gaga at the sight of fragrance samples, or scream
at writers as if they were celebrities, I know passion and enthusiasm when
I see it. And passion and enthusiasm
were in abundance that day, in each of those fans, in those writers, and the
people of Precious Pages Corporation.
Just like love and romance, the
books Precious Pages Corporation is known for, that event brought a smile to my
face and made me laugh, and I know many passersby had the same experience. All in all, the Precious Pages’ Grand Fans’
Day was an afternoon of fun, of romance, and gratitude. Now if only every day were just like that …
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