Christmas is in the air in the metropolis once again! And for many of us, it’s one of the most joyous occasions we look forward to each year.
It helps that establishments across the metropolis make an effort to “dress up” for the season, Never mind it reeks of commercialism, these spectacles so colorful and cheerful that you can’t help but smile at what you see, from the Christmas musical lights at Ayala Triangle to Meralco’s Liwanag Park, many of which have become annual Yuletide landmarks that has shaped the metropolis in recent years.
This year marks the beginning of a new Yuletide tradition, courtesy of the property developers Ortigas and Company. While not having a more prolific portfolio as Ayala Land and SM, Ortigas and Company is the one behind the development of prominent areas such as Greenhills, Ortigas Center, Valle Verde, and Capitol Commons.
This new Christmas landmark can be found along Frontera Drive in Ortigas’ commercial development Frontera Verde, or should I say Ortigas East as it is now being called. But if you are unfamiliar with either name, you may know it more as the area where Tiendesitas is located.
Anyway, this new Christmas landmark is the Christmas light tunnel, which is not actually a tunnel but more of a series of arched metal frames decorated with Christmas lights. Though it does have the illusion of a tunnel so I suppose that counts. This is actually the first Christmas light tunnel installed in the country, having been a popular Yuletide landmark in places such as in Japan, Canada, and France.
As can be expected, the lights used in the Christmas Light Tunnel are colorful, changing colors every few seconds to give a nice effect. With that said, they could have used more Christmas lights to make it really more colorful. Let’s not also forget the Christmas music playing in the background blasting from the nearby speakers.
But it’s not only the lights you can see there. Along the stretch of the “tunnel,” part of the road has been converted into an outdoor food linear park with al fresco dining. The variety of the food there may not be as varied as in the bigger outdoor food markets in the metropolis, but the selection is still good. After all, there are a lot of other food options nearby if the food there is not to your liking. However, in alloting space for that linear food park, part of that stretch of Frontera Drive is closed to traffic. Considering the traffic this area gets, especially now going deep into the Christmas season, that can be a hassle.
Nevertheless, Christmas Light Tunnel at Ortigas East deserves a visit. So if you’re in the area to do some late day shopping, make sure you stick around in the evening to see it come to life.
