Fear not: Pokemon, free museum entrance for Museum Month, Halloween

MANILA, Philippines — October is Halloween month elsewhere, but in the Philippines, it is also known as the Museums and Galleries Month. 

This month, the calendar is marked with exhibit openings and fairs, as well as Halloween trick or treat activities.

Here is a compilation of things to do this October:

Teens get free entrance today, October 22, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Ayala Museum in Makati. 

Titled “Be You(ng)!,” participants will enjoy access to the museum’s ongoing exhibitions including "Splendor: Juan Luna, Painter as Hero," "Pre-colonial Treasures of the Philippines," "Diorama Experience of Philippine History," the "Imprint" exhibition on Fernando Zóbel and "Mindscapes."

Other activities include a free interactive textile workshop for design students; a stage takeover where teens can showcase their performative talents; online and onsite creativity challenges; a special sale at the Museum Shop; freebies from the museum’s merchant partners who will put up booths on the day itself and a chance to view the culminating project of the museum’s first teens’ program titled "Becoming." 

Teens ages 13 to 19 must reserve their slots to visit Ayala Museum for free on October 22 and each can bring up to three companions of any age. 

Come in your best cowboy costumes to the "Tricks and Musical Treats: A PPO Family Concert," the annual Halloween event of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), slated on October 29, 4 p.m. at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater. 

Dubbed “Giddy-UP to Our Rodeorchestral Ride!" the event will  be held in the mall grounds for the first time, away from its home at the CCP Main Building, which has been undergoing rehabilitation since the start of 2023.  

Directed and hosted by theater actress-director Liesl Batucan-del Rosario, the cowboy-themed musical adventure will also feature pre-event activities starting at 2:30 p.m. These include a musical instrument petting zoo where children can touch and experience the different musical instruments often used in an orchestra such as violin, flute, oboe, trumpet and percussion, among others. There will be a trick or treat booth at the