A star-studded celebration of the Kagay-an at SM

Some of the country’s top entertainers will make a stop at the City of Golden Friendship to celebrate the Kagay-an Festival at SM City Cagayan de Oro this month.

Keith Martin, Nina, Ella May Saison, StarStruck’s Dion Ignacio, Nadine Samonte and Yasmien Kurdi will grace the festivities, which include contests and parades that will showcase the city’s culture and tradition.

The Kagay-an Festival is celebrated during the annual feast of Saint Augustine, the city’s patron saint. Huge floats in parade, drum and bugle exhibitions, dancing and music are some of the attractions.

The city has its roots in 1624 when Fray Agustin de San Pedro of the Augustinian Recollect Order was assigned to the area. Also trained in architecture and military skills at the University de Salamanca in Spain, he helped Datu Salangsang defend the fortress of Himologan against the attack of Sultan Kudarat’s warriors.

He advised the Datu to relocate down the river to the area of what is known today as Gaston Park and the San Agustin Cathedral, a move that led to the founding of Cagayan. Here the priest built a fort where the Datu and his wife were baptized as Christians – making them the first converts in Cagayan. The soldier-priest was considered hero by the Cagayanons as he not only tended to their spiritual needs, but helped defend the town from invaders from Lanao.

SM City Cagayan de Oro celebrates the Kagay-an Festival with a fusion of the traditional and the modern. Dion and Nadine take the lead with a performance tomorrow at the mall’s Atrium.

A parade highlighting the Oro-Oro Festival will be held in the mall on Monday, Aug. 22. This event is inspired by the legend of the Giant Golden Fish, which tells of a story of a priest eaten by a big fish called the kutong when he went down the river.

It’s fun and folklore with the Salang Salang musical play presentation, which glorifies the legend of Cagayan de Oro on Tuesday, Aug. 23 at 5 p.m.

Jazz Up Your Jeepneys, a contest for the best dressed up jeepney in gold (or oro), will have its grand finals on Wednesday, Aug. 24 at the Les Rambles parking lot. This joint project of SM City Cagayan de Oro and the City Tourism Board has great prizes at stake: P20,000 for the first prize, P15,000 for the second prize, and P10,000 for the third prize.

It’s marching and music on Thursday, Aug. 25 as students of the Liceo de Cagayan University thrill mall goers with a drum and bugle exhibition.

Yasmien Kurdi will sing I Know, theme of the Koreanovela Sweet 18 and other hits from her album In the Name of Love on Friday, Aug. 26 at the SM City Cagayan de Oro Atrium.

Capping the festivities is a street party topbilling Keith Martin and Nina on Saturday, Aug. 27 and a performance by Ella May Saison on Sunday, Aug. 28.

Celebrate the Kagay-an Festival at SM City Cagayan de Oro.