(SPOT.ph) It’s not just a brand new year, it’s a brand new decade. This month might just set the tone not only for 2020, but also for the next 10 years. If you’ve set some goals or made new resolutions, you’ll be glad to know you don’t need to spend money to get started on them. Whether you’ve decided to try new things, live a healthier lifestyle, or support a good cause, there’s something for you—for free—this month.
Here are 10 free things to do this January:
Join a watercolor workshop
If “make more art” is part of your new year’s resolution for 2020, then you’re in luck! Art Bar Art Fair is back with art materials on sale; but more importantly, free art workshops for the budding painter. There’s also a special live painting session with Indian watercolor artist Prafull Sawant. He is known for his realistic landscape paintings, and has exhibited in international watercolor festivals in Russia, Spain, and China.
Art Bar Art Fair 2020 is on January 19, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Event Center, Lower Ground, SM Megamall Building A, Mandaluyong City.
Take your love for pastries to the next level
Do you love baking and want to take it to the next level? Maybe taking up pastry arts is how you should start this decade. The Academy of Pastry and Culinary Arts is hosting a trial class that’s part-demo class and tasting, and part-campus tour. They’re also offering some free career guidance, in case you want to get into baking full-time.
This pastry arts trial class is on January 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Treston International College, University Parkway District, 32nd Street corner C-5 Road, Bonifacio Global City. You can register on the APCA website.
Enjoy happy hour while watching an award-winning movie
Wind down the decade’s first full workweek after the holidays by checking out happy hour with a twist—a free screening of critically acclaimed film Whiplash. The screening will involve drinking cues (i.e. take a shot every time the drum sticks fall to the ground); and, if you’re up and still sober for it, a post-movie audience discussion.
This free screening of Whiplash is on January 12, 8:30 p.m. at Borough, Bonifacio High Street Central, 7th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City. E-mail manilamovienights@gmail.com to reserve a seat.
Make your art work for you
We always hear it about the art industry. “Walang pera diyan.” Of course, it’s not entirely true. To get you started on making illustrations and commercial art in the advertising and multimedia industry, there’s a free seminar facilitated by experts in the field, including animator and illustrator Katreena Kaye Iral. Hopefully, the 2020s might be the decade you produce your best work of art, or at least complete a dream project.
Magnum Opus: An Illustration and Commercial Arts Seminar is on January 16, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at AVR 2, Mapua University, Muralla Street, Intramuros, Manila City.
Learn the art of kendo
Are you hoping to change things up with your workouts? Maybe you want to live your Rurouni Kenshin and Samurai X fantasy? Either way, the IGA Kendo Club is hosting a free trial class at their dojo for anyone interested in the Japanese martial arts of kendo.
This kendo trial session is on January 18 and January 25, from 2:45 p.m. to 5 p.m. at The 3rd Fitness Lab, Scout Dr. Lazcano Street, Diliman, Quezon City.
Get a jumpstart on “adulting”
We know, we know. #Adulting is hard. But have you ever wondered what that deduction (a.k.a. Social Security System contribution) on your payslip is for? Maybe you’re a freelancer who wants to know how to contribute on your own? Social Security System is offering an in-depth and intensive seminar that covers everything from membership and contributions to the benefits every member receives and even loans entitled to members.
The SSS In-Depth Information Seminar is from January 20 to 22, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Luz Vi Minda Function Room, SSS Main Building, East Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City. Register online for free tickets.
Take a free tour of the Bible Museum
Did you know January is National Bible Month? If you’re interested or curious about the Bible and its history in the Philippines, the Philippine Bible Society is offering free tours of their museum this January. You can learn the history of the bible and even find out how papyrus was made.
This free tour is available every Saturday of January from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m at 2/F Philippine Bible Society Building, United Nations Avenue, Ermita, Manila City.
Go brisk walking for a good cause
Enjoy a good walk? Why not do it for a great cause? Autism Society Philippines is organizing their annual “Angels Walk for Autism” event this year and anyone interested can take part. Started in 2007, this walk advocates for “acceptance, accommodation, and appreciation” of people with autism.
The Angels Walk for Autism is on January 26 at the MOA Arena, Mall of Asia Complex, J.W. Diokno Boulevard, Pasay City. Gates open at 6:30 a.m. You can register online to join the event for free.
Catch a Venezuelan film festival
Cinema is a great way to see and understand other cultures. This January, you can learn more about Venezuela through three films chosen by the Venezuelan Embassy. Luis Alberto Lamata's Azú (2013) follows the story of a group of sales who flee from a sugarcane plantation in 1780. Andrés Eduardo Rodríguez and Luis Alejandro Rodríguez' Hijos de la Sal (2018) tells the story of a Venezuelan family who is isolated from the oustide and makes end meet by harvesting salt from the sea. Luis Octavian Rahamut's El DiCaprio de Corozopando (2017) is a family-friendly comedy film about the little known town called Corozopando that's hoping to be famous through a boy named Rubén Darío.
Venezuela en tres peliculas is on January 27 at Cine Adarna, UP Film Institute, Osmeña Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City.
Make your money grow
No, we don’t mean digging soil, planting some coins, and waiting for it to grow. (Although we do wish it were that easy.) If personal wealth is one of your goals this decade, then investing in the stock market might be a good place to start. You don’t even have to spend for it! A free seminar on the basic principles of investing in the Philippine stock market is happening this month.
The ABC’s of Investing in the Stock Market is on January 29, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m at Unit 1210-1212, 12/F PSE Tower, 5th Avenue corner 28th Street, Bonifacio Global City.
Main image by StockSnap from Pixabay
