Yuri on Ice fans from all over the country definitely made history as a couple hundred of them converged at Hear My Heartbeat: The #YOICONPH2017 Pre-party last March 10, 2017 at the skating rink of SM Megamall. Being one of the very first anime-themed events on an Olympic-sized skating rink in the Philippines, if not the world, fans got to skate and live out the experience from last year’s smash anime hit, with a terrific program and some nice prizes for attendees.
Filipinos still have so much love for last year’s hit anime Yuri on Ice, garnering a huge following locally, enough for some fans to get together and organize an event for it, Born To Make History: A Yuri!!! on ICE Fan Gathering. It will be a tribute to the series for fans by fans, to be held on March 26 2017, Sunday, from 12:00nn to 7:00pm, at the Bayanihan Center (JYC Hall A), 8008 Pioneer St., Kapitolyo, Pasig City, Philippines. And just recently, the organizers got to pull of something incredible. The pre-party , Hear My Heartbeat, received tremendous support, with tickets being sold out, and on that day, fans came in in droves to have fun and relive the feels of their cherished anime.
Although set in the evening, fans were already there early afternoon so as not to miss a single minute of the pre-party. At the designated time, they lined up properly, and while they waited they would be heard chatting animatedly amongst themselves, all obviously excited of the event, even sharing a story or a joke or two. Even strangers got to be good friends afterwards just because of their shared love for the anime.
A good number of them showed their love for the series by cosplaying their favorite characters, and we took some photos as we waited for the gates to open.
Around 6pm the attendees were ushered inside, and they were given skate rentals at no extra cost, and all were excited as they suited up just minutes before the program began.
Organizer and host Tricia got to welcome everyone to the event, and she got to introduce members from the Philippine Skating Union, who in turn imparted their knowledge of figure skating in the Philippines and the history of SM Skating and the accomplishments and achievements of our fellow Filipino ice skaters in various international competitions.
Probably the most awaited part of the program was an exhibition skate by Joel Minas. His performance of Yuri’s Eros routine had over two million hits on YouTube, and fans at the pre-party were overjoyed as he got to perform it in front of their very eyes amid their screams and cheers at SM Megamall’s Olympic-sized skating rink.
Not long after, it was the “You on Ice” part of the event where the fans themselves got to be on the ice and got to feel what it was like in the world of Yuri. It didn’t matter if they knew how to skate or not, and that for a good number of them it was their first time on a skating rink. All were thrilled with the experience, and everyone was friendly and helpful and having the time of their lives.
One lucky fan got to win the YoICon Pre-party Instagram contest and had Joel be her coach for the event in a one-on-one skating lesson.
Our friends from Perry in Disguise are sponsors for the event and they got to feature their latest line of Yuri on Ice-inspired jackets, with a Yuri one going to the guest, Joel Minas.
arkadymac.com’s cosplay models Sage, Irene, and Yanna along with guest model Yuni got to shoot with the new line of jackets, which are already available for preorders and will be available for sale at the main event, Born To Make History: A Yuri!!! on ICE Fan Gathering.
And as our Correspondents for the event, they got to have fun as well with fans and attendees as they too got caught up in the contagiously nostalgic atmosphere that evening at the skating rink.
Everyone had a splendid time as they relived their favorite anime on the ice that Yuri loved, and even for just a night, they all got to bond, sing the theme song together, and in a friendly and supportive atmosphere, got to live out their fantasies on the ice together. And for these, we congratulate the organizers for doing an amazing job of putting this one-of-a-kind history-making event together, a feat even established organizers would be envious of.
But this was just what it was advertised: a pre-party, and the main event is about to happen just a few days away at Born To Make History: A Yuri!!! on ICE Fan Gathering, March 26 2017, Sunday, from 12:00nn to 7:00pm, at the Bayanihan Center (JYC Hall A), 8008 Pioneer St., Kapitolyo, Pasig City, Philippines. arkadymac.com is an official media partner for the event, and we hope to catch you there as we bring the highlights of this monumental fan meet. For updates, please visit their website at https://yoiconph.com/ and the Born To Make History: A Yuri!!! on ICE Fan Gathering, event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/1308326585880195/
Many thanks to arkadymac.com’s photographers Chris Mortell and Marvin Reyes for the images they have captured at the Pre-party. Thanks as well to Resa and everyone at Perry in Disguise for helping out in our joint shoot. Finally, to the organizers for entrusting their coverage to us.
Thank you for dropping by, and do visit us again for more features here at arkadymac.com.
Please click on an image to enlarge the photos on the gallery.
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