MANILA, Philippines - April Fool’s Day was Swatch Zebra Day all around the globe. In the Philippines, Swatch Zebra Day was presented by Rockwell Power Plant Mall and Swatch. A mall-wide Zebra Extravaganza, directed by Rowell Santiago, gave all the mall goers and guests a fun-filled afternoon.
Matteo Guidicelli, Swatch endorser and champion racer, kicked off the event. Driving a black and white striped jeepney, Matteo gamely drove the “zebras” to the Rockwell mall entrance.
Upon arrival, the zebras checked out the different stores in the mall and mingled with surprised mall goers and guests. They roamed the food court in the basement, the Swatch Pop-Up Store and the ZebrArt Studio on the second floor, all the way up to the cinemas on the third floor.
Participants, who wanted to win the Swatch Zebra Challenge, gamely waited and stalked the zebras in the different zebra color stations. After chasing the zebras all over the mall, the first 20 people who completed taking a picture of the zebras in all five color stations each won a Swatch Zebra watch.
April 1 was also Sartorial Day at Rockwell, and people came in their sartorial black and white or neon splendor. They flocked to the ZebrArt Studio to have their pictures taken. The pictures were then attached to an eight-foot-high zebra sculpture, which now currently stands at the main entrance of the Rockwell Mall. Of course, everybody who had their pictures taken was given their own picture souvenir.
After an afternoon of frolicking and dancing, the zebras gathered at the fountain area of Rockwell. The whole zebra herd performed an impressive zebra dance which, unbeknownst to the zebras, Swatch endorsers, Anne Curtis and Luis Manzano, enjoyed.
Margarita Fores of Cibo joined the fun and created a special ball-park menu. Guests feasted on snappy Sheboygan beef franks, tender mini Angus burgers and pasta flambe’ in a parmigiano-reggiano wheel. Passed around was scrumptious Parmesan truffle popcorn. A Valhrona chocolate fondue fountain and gelato in waffle cones capped the splendid spread.
The show ended with a fun conga line of the zebras marching from the newly opened Swatch Pop-Up Store back to their savannah. The Swatch Pop-Up Store is located at the 2nd level, Archaeology Main Hall in front of National Book Store.
Check out the Swatch Zebra Day Philippines event video on YouTube.