Happy New Year!!!

I celebrated the coming of 2009 A.D. and spent the last hours of the year 2008 with good friends & family at Eden Nature Park in the south of Davao City. It was my first time to spend New Year’s Eve at this mountain resort that I love so much — a big Thank you! to my friends at Eden for making this New Year’s celebration a wonderful one!

Each year — and this has been going on for almost a decade now — Eden Nature Park hosts a New Year’s bash that everyone talks about. It’s an event for the whole family, with entertainment and shows for all ages. This year, the Park put on magic shows, a Narnia wardrobe (playroom) for the kids, face-painting, henna tattooing, even fortune-telling.

The bands did a swell job of entertaining the oldies with 70s music during the early part of the evening, then moved on to more recognizable tunes for the younger set. There was also a percussion band (Katribo) that played music that really livened up the whole place. And the fire dancing show was spectacular!

Welcoming the new year with good food, good company, the gaiety and conviviality of the people around was truly exhilarating. I had anticipated a rather somber year-ender because my parents spent the holidays out of town and this was the first time that my clan would celebrate without our beloved grandmother (who had passed on last March). But some of my relatives were there at Eden, as well as friends, so the celebration turned out to be quite festive.

The food helped, of course! Eden has long been known for their sumptuous buffet spread, and it was no different during the New Year’s party. I especially relished the seafood dishes and the salads, as well as the roasted calf that made my mouth water.

Next year, I hope I can go back and celebrate with more friends and more family members again at Eden Nature Park. This time, I’d like to stay overnight. We were supposed to this time, but we decided to go and continue the partying in downtown Davao.

This 2009, I look forward to more events in Davao and beyond, both blogging-related and otherwise. Watch out for what my team and I will come up with this year!