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Community, Parks
The quiet heart of Alabang
This post is taken from The TIC Blog; it’s part of a series of pieces about the AAV parks, Narra Park in particular. Read the introduction and the second post as well. - ed
I’ve lived in Alabang for 19 years, and in all those years I’ve always had only love and thankfulness for the opportunity to live in such a beautiful and well-kept subdivision. My father started paying for the property since 1980 (it took him over 20 years to complete the terms as an employee of Ayala Corporation), when the whole place was a dry brown patch of white houses with red tegula roofing in the middle of the remnants of the mango plantation as the land used to be when it belonged to the Madrigal family.
As a child I would always look forward to visiting our little house (one half of a duplex bungalow) coming all the way from Sampaloc, Manila. The primary novelty of Alabang to me then was grass. We didn’t have grass in Sampaloc, you see. And in Alabang you saw wide open spaces with tall Cogon grass, as well as tough Carabao grass, and most delightful, the manicured lawns with grass that had impressive names like Texas Blue and Bermuda.
You could actually pick mangoes from the ground then. But what really captured my young heart so powerfully, as it still does now, are the many parks within the village. And my favorite then and now is the Narra Park smack in the middle of the village, with one of the sanitation creeks running through it.
The park is home to a number of playgrounds, two basketball courts (of late these courts have fallen to disrepair) and of course, the bridges. Even though the creek that they span is actually coursing sewage water, it doesn’t detract from the charm of the wooden structures. At night, the bridge spans the creek that runs from Madrigal Avenue to Acacia Avenue, through San Bernardino and Dao Streets, cutting across Maria Cristina and Narra.
At night, especially when the lights are out (due to the rare power outage), the bridge (and the park itself) can seem sinister and spooky. Jogging there can really give you the creeps, although I think it only adds to its charm.
No one really talks about the park, even among residents, and you almost never see it crowded, except for the weekend bazaars held in the Southwest section (approaching De La Salle Santiago Zobel School). I think it’s a great place to wind down a romantic evening, with a reliable breeze (it’s never failed me yet!) and conversation on the bridge.
The latest addition is a shrine to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, which really does wonders in reducing the spook factor. Located right next to the busiest bridge, she feels right at home at the very heart of our beautiful village.
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Dear Editor,
I love the south metro! I have been living in bf resort for almost all of my life! and i would like to get married here at the south area. my fiancee is from parańaque. I just have one important question pertaining to my upcoming wedding. Since i am getting married here at paranaque, i was wondering if you know any good places to hold garden wedding receptions in paranaque or any wedding receptions in the south metro area for that matter? please help me. thanks.
Hi Eric,
Thanks for reading Southbound and congratulations on your upcoming wedding! :) We’ll look around for reception venues in the South and hopefully feature some soon… for now though, off the top of our heads, here are some ideas:
A good friend (and Southbound contributor!) had her wedding at the St. James Church in Alabang, and their reception was held in the garden immediately in front of the church.
Since you already have a church though, you might want to try getting permission to use one of the many parks or clubhouses in this area. You’ll need to ask the homeowners’ association or developer for permission to use the venue, but if you know a resident, they can sponsor your event and ask for permission on your behalf. Some ideas: Tahanan Village (nice park, also with a chapel), Ayala Alabang (try Makiling Park, which already has a small pavilion), Philam, clubhouses of the new developments like Citta Italia (near BF Resort) or Menlo Park (inside BF Paranaque).
310 in BF Paranaque used to have a nice garden with a pool and an arbor; half of the place has been converted into a bar, but the other half is still a restaurant (The Palmier), and the pool and arbor are still there, though they’ve put up a balcony of sorts over the garden.
Then there are the big clubs, like Alabang Country Club or The Palms. You can also have the reception at one of the hotels in the Filinvest / Northgate area, like Bellevue or Vivere.
Other readers, any ideas? We’ll introduce a bulletin board / forum section soon, so we can share questions and solutions like this with others in the community. :)
Dear Editor,
Just wanted to ask any place you know where I could have my wedding reception in Las Pinas? The special day would be on July. Id love to have a garden wedding but the date we have set will be rainy season. Any suggestion?
hi maricar,
we’re trying to get a comprehensive list of wedding resources in the south from one of our wedding coordinator friends. :) we’ll post that as soon as we complete it. :) oh, and congratulations! ;)
Can a non-resident use the Narra Park for a picnic at any time?
Hi, I went to Narra Park the other day and it was exactly what I was looking for: a quiet and peaceful place to unwind. I’d like to also visit the other parks inside AAV but I don’t know where they are. Any help would be greatfully appreciated. Thanks!
hi oliver,
though the parks are technically for residents’ use, they don’t accost you at the parks and ask for id, so yes, you can use the parks anytime, although a full-scale picnic might attract more attention and may require permission.
azr1992,
some other nice parks in the village:
makiling - another pleasant place to just hang out
san juanico - has the tennis courts and swimming pool
san jose - has covered basketball courts
cuenca - has a covered court and a rustan’s fresh, next to the football field
palawan / area 1 - has a coop and courts; next to the fire station
tamarind - has a playground
there are also a number of smaller, less popular parks, though for the life of me, i can’t remember exactly where they’re located right now.
Thanks for the list of other parks. Are the names of the parks also the names of the streets where they are located?
you’re welcome! yes, the names are actually the street names. enjoy exloring! :D
hi.you should try nature church in moonwalk las pinas for garden events.fernbrook is wonderful though expensive.ecotrend garden in las pinas(along zapote).im an event planner so kinda familiar with things.if anyone is interested to get an event planner,pls email/ym me thru jvreodica@yahoo.com or events_and_designs@yahoo.com.tnx hope to work with you guys soon. :)
oh i forgot the hillsborough clubhouse (the swimming pool portion).you can have your wedding,debut and birthdays there for only 15k.good for 5hours and in sun valley pque also.a swimming pool venue for 15k good for 5 hours also.
joanne,
thanks for the info! :D
I would just like to ask if they rent out the ayala alabang parks for parties? Or even the Cuenca Community Center? If so, who do you think we should contact? thanks. :)
maan,
i’m not sure… i’ll have to ask the association about that. anyone out there living in the village who can answer this? :) thanks!
hi,me and my bf are already planning our wedding. and we are looking for a nice place to held our reception that is near to St. James church. and the AAV garden is the perfect place. do you any way we can held our reception in the AAV garden. pls advise. you will be most helpful. thanks. pease email me at anna.diaz@wachovia.com
do you know any nice place for the reception near st.james?
hey! i would just like to ask if you know the home school “our lady of carmel”? if would really appreciated it if you reply back on my email me. and if you can do it asap!chrizzy_scorpio18@yahoo.co.uk thank you very much!
hi!
I’d like to know if you could suggest a venue that i can hold my wedding reception at. preferably in the las pinas or alabang areas. :)thank you so much
Dear Editor,
I’m proud to say that I’m a happy and satisfied south person.. kahit na super traffic sa laspinas :D hehehe…
To answer the queries of your readers, I’m also happy to say that I have done extensive research on venues for weddings, birthdays, debuts, etc. in the Las Pinas and Alabang Areas.You’ll be surprised with how much venues can be found “our home”–nice and affordable venues at that :)
You can get a hold of all the information with pictures in our site jackandjenn.multiply.com or you can click on this link for the listing… http://jackandjenn.multiply.com/journal/item/7/Having_a_Hard_Time_Finding_a_VENUE_:)
We are actually a catering company and we’re turning 25 years next year. Finding venues became my passion since 2006 when I became hands on with our family business.
Hope this helps.
Thanks and more power to your site.
–Jenne