On February 16, excitement filled the air at the Narra campus gym of Chiang Kai Shek College as students anticipated the parade of twenty (20) CKS College students. The revelry was covered by Chinoy TV, the College’s media partner. Boosting the festive event and serving as judges were the “Mr. and Ms. Chinatown Winners”, namely: Ms. Rolini Pineda (Ms. Chinatown 2013), Mr. Jerome Tan (Mr. Chinatown 2013- 1st Runner Up), and Mr. Timothy Yap (Mr. Chinatown 2014- 2nd Runner Up). Other judges were the Assistant Directress for Developmental Studies, Mrs. Li Ling Ma and the Registrar, Mr. Melchor Te.

Drumbeats were resonating throughout the whole venue as the event commenced with a lively lion dance performance by the CKS College Wu Shu Team. The vibrancy and colorful pattern of dances the Wu Shu team displayed captured the audience’s attention. The competition was segmented into three distinct parts: the contestants’ introduction, the talent portion, and the question and answer portion. Clad in traditional Chinese wear, the contestants formally introduced themselves to the huge crowd. The contestants were as follows:

1. Vince Paolo Lee and Jasmine Dell Co

2. Andrew Chiu and Hannah Grace Yu

3.  Raymond Shu and Darrie Mitzi Ong

4. Jayson Kevin Chen and Danica Hijoya Cheng

5. Jimcen Dave Young and Tiffany So

6. Jeremy Glenn Ngo and Wynette Nicole Lorenzo

7. Job Winston Pua and Ana Charlene Lim

8. Judd Adrian Ong and Rachelle Tan

9. Alexander Ngo and Abigail Joy Chua

10. Arch Emmanuele Chan and Anne Nathalie Teng.

From different corners of the gym, students, showing their support to the contestants, cheered. While waiting for the candidates to showcase their talents, another set of intermission was performed by the Wu Shu team. The team demonstrated their remarkable talent, derived from traditional Chinese martial arts, and exhibited various Wu Shu techniques. Afterwards, the candidates showcased their talents, from singing, dancing, traditional Chinese Yo-yo, to Chinese fan dance. Among all the contestants, Mr. Jayson Chen and Ms. Danica Cheng were deemed as having the most exceptional talents. Before moving to the last segment of the contest, the question and answer section, a lovely duet was rendered by Ms. Hannah Diane Asaña and Mr. Jaymark Roca, followed by a song and dance number by Ms. Raegine Mercurio & Ms. Dominique Bañas, together with the SDA Crew.

Moving to the last portion, the candidates entered the stage in elegant formal wear. Projected on screen were the questions: “In 2015, what would you like to change most about yourself?” (for female candidates), and “Describe your previous year in a few sentences” (for male candidates). After few minutes of tallying the scores, the winners for special awards were as follows:

Best in Chinese Wear: Mr. Vince Paolo Lee & Ms. Hannah Grace Yu

Best in Talent: Mr. Jayson Kevin Chen & Ms. Danica Hijoya Cheng

Best in Formal Wear: Mr. Vince Paolo Lee & Ms. Danica Hijoya Cheng

Mr. CKS College (2nd Runner Up) – Mr. Judd Adrian Ong

Ms. CKS College (2nd Runner Up) – Ms. Darrie Mitzi Ong

Mr. CKS College (1st Runner Up)- Mr. Jayson Kevin Chen

Ms. CKS College (1st Runner Up) – Ms. Tiffany So

Mr. CKS College 2015 – Mr. Jimcen Dave Young

Ms. CKS College 2015 – Ms. Danica Hijoya Cheng

Chinese culture was certainly manifested with grace during the event. Indeed, the celebration was a great welcome for the year of the wooden goat!