By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Negrense Toy Collectors is set to host the PlaygroundEX 2019 exposition on Saturday at the SMX Convention Center Function Hall 1 in Bacolod City.
During a press conference yesterday, organizers said they are expecting an attendance of up to 4,000, comprised of toy enthusiasts from both Negros Occidental and elsewhere in the country.
PlaygroundEX 2019 will host several events featuring K-pop music,  a cosplay competition, mobile gaming, and an artist alley.
The event’s main attraction is a display of various collections of toys and scale models including tanks, planes, cars, and ships.
Other toy collections presented will be based on anime, manga, and TV-inspired toy collections such as the Gundam series, Voltes 5, Voltron, Masked Rider Black, Pokemon, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Butz Cuenca, one of the event organizers, said several personalities from Metro Manila will serve as judges for the K-pop competition and cosplay event with around 60 contestants participating.
Vince Muyco, another organizer, said the aim of the event is to create an identity for the province as toy conventions are always hosted in other cities such as Manila or Cebu.
He said, if they could start an event in Bacolod City, they’ll also be able to compete and promote with other cities, adding, they are hoping for a bigger event in the future./DGB, WDJ