The growing love and support of Filipino fans for Thai dramas and films gave birth to the first ever Thai convention in the Philippines, the “LACON: A Fan Convention for Thai Fandom 2023,” held last July 8, 2023.

The Philippine Trade Training Center became a haven for Thai Boys Love (BL) drama fans as the venue was dressed for the occasion. There were several booths that sell BL merchandise and individual artist merch. You can also find a number of official and fan made merchandise that you can add to your collection.

You can also help support your favorite actors by donating for their upcoming fan projects especially artists that are coming to Manila soon. Thai BL fans enjoyed an exchange of freebies as we know that the spirit of fan conventions is sharing between fandoms and creating fun memories together.

LACON 2023

During the pre-show, part of the program were the Thai Singing and Dance Cover Contest. The crowd cheered for the participants and everyone’s enjoying the whole-day event. There were games that was participated by the audience and their prizes include signed posters from the Hit Bite Love Cast. We got also get to see special performances from Mark Adrian Santiago and Julie Ann.

Hit Bite Love cast on stage

There’s no time to keep calm as the Hit Bite Love cast takes over the floor to officially start the show. Their jolly personalities shined on stage as they perform the OST of the series “Hit Me, Bite Me.” The hype is totally on thanks to the loud cheers brought by the crowd. The fanservice of the actors are heartwarming as well.

On stage, Tae, Big Boss, Jur, NewYear, Vic, Alan and Goove greeted the audience with a short and sweet “Magandang Gabi” (Have a great night!) and mentioned that they are looking forward to the fan meeting and meeting their Filipino fans. (Know more about the Hit Bite Love Cast.)

Goove to Know You

During their opening ment, they were able to share some suggestions on their must-see places in Thailand and the food they would try when they visit their hometown. To get to know more about the artist, they played a game stage starting with “Goove to Know You,” where Goove would let the audience guess the answer. He shared that he loves to sing and gladly sang the chorus part of their OST.

Tae and Vic learning Filipino words

Tae and Vic performed “ใกล้เกินเพื่อน” (Beyond Close Friend) , one of their OST sang by the couple. They shared that the Philippines is such a nice place. The two young actors also asked the fans to support them once again in their upcoming series. They were also asked what Filipino words they learned and both answered “Mahal Kita”.

Tae and Vic also guessed the meaning of the Filipino words “Tadhana, Alapaap Magmuni, Tinatangi” and more. The two also danced to popular Pinoy song “Budots” not just once but twice.

Alan and Big Boss’ TMI

Alan and Big Boss sang “คุณและคุณเท่านั้น (Koon Lae Koon Tao Nun)” translated as “You and You Only” by Kangsom Tanatat. After their lively performance, they had a game where they would share if a certain situation happened to them before. One of the most interesting TMI they shared is that Big Boss watched Heartstoppper while Alan watched NCIS.

Cute poses of NewYear and Jur

As the night approaches, the highlight of the show, NewYear and Jur entered the stage to perform a song and play a game. The game requires them to do similar poses with a certain keyword.

NewYear and Jur shared that visiting Manila is one of their best experiences so far. They bid their farewell with a cute note as they say “Love you guys,” thanking the fans for their support.

Hide and Seek

Aside from the couple performances and games, the whole cast also played Hide and Seek where two cast members are blindfolded and must find their partner. They performed some of the OSTs of the show as well.

For an encore performance, they appeared on stage wearing Barong Tagalog and they watched a video made by the fans. There were also behind the scenes from their fanmeeting preparations and more. The fans also prepared banners which translates to “Keep shining, our little stars.”

The boys got emotional and can’t contain their tears as they officially end the fanmeet. They took a group photo with the audience and even performed an OPM Song “Your Song (One and Only You)” by Parokya ni Edgar. Lucky fans received bears with the actors’ signature. Also, the cast request that their fans sing the chorus part while Vic was playing the guitar.

As part of the perks for some tiers, fans had the chance to have Hi-Touch, Photo Op and other fan benefits like selfies and fan signing. LACON 2023 with Hit Bite Love Cast Fan Meeting in Manila was brought to us by Wish Us Luck Ent. and Jinloe Official.

Written By: Charlene Caderao
Photos: Jessa Lacao