Fiesta Pinoy 2011: DOT-CV, Cebu to host National Festival confab

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Tourism in Central Visayas and the Sinulog Foundation, Inc. will host the “Fiesta Pinoy 2011: The 1st National Festival Congress” in Cebu next month.

This event is said to be the venue to learn, share and explore the management of festivals and its impact on tourism, the economy and our culture.

“In our collective efforts to boost tourism and secure a spot among Asia’s most sought after destinations, undoubtedly among the major crowd magnets is our staging of festivals in the various parts of the country that draw both local and international tourists to our shores,” DOT-7 Regional Director Rowena Montecillo said.

Fiesta Pinoy 2011 will bring in speakers both from the public and private sectors across different regions presenting a wide range of topics on festival and event management.

Topics range from naming a festival, to the vital role of music, the fanfare of costumes, the essence of dance, to judging and scoring contests, the not-to-be-missed sidelights, to marketing and packaging a festival, and the sharing of best practices from veteran festival organizers.

To be held on November 23 to 25, the congress will also feature activities that promote fellowship and camaraderie among colleagues and newfound business contacts, said Montecillo.

SFI executive director and convention director Ricky Ballesteros said that fiestas today are celebrated in many different and colorful ways and organizing a fiesta or a festival has taken on new meaning.

“Our fiesta celebrations may be for different reasons but one certainty is that staging a festival involves a lot of hard work,” Ballesteros said.

The DOT and SFI are extending invitations to stakeholders who would benefit from attending this congress such as tourism officers, festival hosts, fiesta organizers and managers, event organizers and others.

“We assure you a lot of thought has been put into providing a very educational and entertaining festival congress,” Ballesteros said. — (FREEMAN)