Impressions of an Observer: Review on Kagay-an Festival 2010
Every August, Cagayan de Oro becomes the favorite destination in Northern Mindanao. CDO is popular for having one of the most festive fiesta celebrations around. One can feel the excitement of the Kagay-anons and the highly-charged atmosphere, especially when August 28 loomed nearer and nearer.
This year’s fiesta season was peppered with exciting competitions, mouthwatering food and trade fairs, exciting entertainment and eye-popping celebrity appearances. If the giant tarpaulin showing the schedule of events for the month-long fiesta celebration in the middle of Divisoria was any indication, the Kagay-anons had plenty of events to attend and to fill their daily (or nightly) planners with.
Dance competitions were spread out in August, starting with the Dance Sport in Limketkai Mall. It was later followed by the dance exhibition of the Smart Day Dance Crew and the Bibo Kagay-an Y2KX Clash 2010.
Fiestas also mean parties and great music. Kagay-anons had their party fix with the Tilt House Party, Uniliver’s Pop Fiesta with DXCC at the Pelaez Sports Center and SMB’s “Let’s Groove the Night” in Upper Carmen, and SMB Night at the Site in LimKetKai’s Rosario Arcade.
Of course, there are several events that have become fixtures in the Kagay-an Festival. First up is the Ms. Kagay-an beauty pageant wherein all barangays and universities in the city always seem to have their very own contestant or two. This year, 18-year old Virnajenn Bacus from Barangay Macasandig was crowned as Ms. Kagay-an 2010. Along with awesome cash prizes and gifts, she also received the responsibilities as a tourism ambassador for Cagayan de Oro City. The runners up of the pageant are Bianca Erfe (1st), Jeminah Ferrer (2nd), Diva Catherine Opina (3rd) and Rhealou Zayas (4th).
Another regular event is the Rhythmic Dance Competition attended by Physical Education students from different participating schools in the city.
The third event is the annual Golden Float Parade Competition. This year, it was held on the morning of August 28. Crowds of people flocked the city’s main streets to see the colorful floats of the government and non-governmental institutions that joined the competition. Concentrix Corporation won the top prize of P150,000, followed by runners-up International Pharma, Inc (1st) and LBC(2nd).
Since no Philippine celebration is ever complete without bountiful food, no one could let pass the 14th Kumbira 2010 Culinary Festival last August 18-20. This year’s theme was “Local Flavors for Global Competitiveness.” The culinary prowess of hotel and restaurant practitioners and students were showed off in a friendly competition. The overall winner in the Professional Division was VIP Hotel followed by runners-up Bigby’s Café & Restaurant(1st) and Pryce Plaza(2nd). For the Student Division, STI College was declared champion, followed runners-up COC-Phinma College(1st) and CARAGA State University-Cabadbaran City(2nd). As for the Mindanao Chef Wars, Missy Bonbon won the silver medal while Liceo de Cagayan University took home the gold medal.
Neighboring cities and provinces also celebrated the fiesta with us. There were numerous fairs and contests wherein people from other places graced us with their presence and joined in on the fun. The Kahimunan Northern Mindanao Trade Fair, which was held last August 23-29 at Limketkai Mall, saw many participants from the different cities and municipalities of Region 10. The products and manufacturers in the trade fair came from Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental and Camiguin.
Rounding up the festivities were the famous celebrities who were present in several events. Through a series of concerts, television specials and campaign rallies, Kagay-anons got an eyeful of Sarah Geronimo, John Lloyd Cruz, Angelica Panganiban, Maja Salvador, Deither Ocampo, PBB Big 6, Rivermaya, Cesar Montano, Charlie Green, XLR8, Barbie Forteza, Joshua Dionisio, La Diva, and other Party Pilipinas celebrities.
And as a perfect finale for the happy month of August, almost half of the city trooped to SM City Mall on the evening of August 29 to witness the pyrotechnics competition. Beautiful, colorful and breathtaking firework displays along with heart-stopping booms- the Kagay-an Festival truly ended with a resounding bang!
-Jay Daphne Bual-
