Lagawan

Despite the coming elections, the crowd-drawing Dagupan Bangus Festival will be held as scheduled on April 16 to May 1 this year.

This was announced by Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, who was designated anew by Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. as chair of the executive committee of this year’s Bangus Festival.

Fernandez said she already met members of the executive committee to plan for this year’s festival which, she added, will just be similar to last year’s with the exception of just a few events.

Last year’s festival was believed to be the most pompous of its kind ever since the yearly feast began in 2003 as a big marketing and promotion strategy for Dagupan’s number one agricultural product, bangus.

Now on her third year in a row to chair the festival, she said the anchor event “Gilon-Gilon ed Dalan” or street dancing using and adopting the movement of people while they are harvesting milkfish, will return, so with the “Festival of the North” that will gather all street dancing champions in Northern and Central Luzon in one big competition that will decide the best among the best.

There will also be the Great Dagupan Sale, ‘Pigar-Pigar’ Festival to showcase Dagupan’s unique culinary art, 101 Ways to Cook Bangus, Bangus Rodeo, Halo-Halo sa Malamig, Tunog Bangus, Food Strip, Bangusan Streetparty and Pista’y Dayat.

Fernandez said officials of Milpitas City in California, USA, led by their mayor will be the official guests of Dagupan City in this year’s Bangus Festival.

Milpitas is a sister city of Dagupan since 2004. (PNA)