Fair factor

Everybody loves a fair – you know, you never know what (or who) you’ll find. And so, under fair, sunny, near-summery skies, Festival Supermall (the mall south of Manila) in Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang opened Pagdiriwang: Sining at Paglikha (a travel and tourism fair ongoing until Feb. 29) on a festive Sunday afternoon at the Carousel Court.

Indeed a colorful come-on was a demonstration on the art of making taka (papier-mache) by a manang from Paete, where this time-cherished art is alive and well. Before delighted guests and assorted shoppers, the manang painted a papier-mache horse with the deftness and soul of a true Paete artist. We would have galloped home with a papier-mache or two!

As the program of songs (actually, just one song from Metropop Song Festival grand prize winner Bayang Barrios) and native dances (including a fire dance by the Sangyang fire dancers of Alfonso, Cavite and the immortal buling-buling by members of the Alay Kapwa Christian Community of Pandacan) proceeded on stage, shoppers couldn’t resist plunging straight into the fair’s colorful mix of offerings. There were native goods and goodies galore. Women were crowding around a booth carrying handicrafts fashioned out of coconut raw materials. Some hovered around booths offering local tours and accommodations. Others were drawn to a booth offering feng shui objects made by local artisans. We also caught a lot of hungry shoppers milling around a booth selling rice cakes.

Organized by Xedart Exhibitions and Trade Services, the selling fair features 31 participants that are a colorful mix of tour operators and travel agencies promoting local tourism (so, now you know where you’ll be this summer) as well as makers of local handicrafts, native delicacies and tropical fruits from different parts of the country.

The list includes: Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA), Pearl Pacific Boracay, Vacation Club International, Parque España - Filinvest Corporate City, Club Panoly Resorts, Philippine Explorer, Niyog Atbp. (handicrafts made from coconut raw materials), Trina & Tricia (handcrafted wooden name tags and arts), V.A.N.C. (Baguio souvenir items and products), Isadora’s Creation (religious images and more), Jorie’s Arts & Gallery, Home Boddy, Cholo’s Arts & Crafts, Ka-Ba-Le-Re, ARR Handicrafts, Sitsirya Sari-Sari (Bulacan food products), Isaro (more Bulacan food products), Fenor Food Products (Iloilo delicacies), Marjorie’s Best, RPM Pili Nuts (Bicol delicacies), Panggalatok Pangasinan Delicacies, Bantayan, Pick-Fresh, Navarro’s Food Products (Iloilo delicacies), Antipolo Pasalubong, Iloco’s Wine Basi, Silver Cross (Iloilo and Laguna delicacies), JFD Special Kakanin (exotic fruits and delicacies), Lilay’s Kakanin, Kakaning Pinoy (pastries and Laguna’s buko pie), and Paraluman Dried Fish.

In keeping with the fair’s theme, guests were treated to native merienda consisting of pancit luglog, pancit, dinuguan at puto and pichi-pichi.

Certainly, it was a native feast for all the senses.

Held in cooperation with the Department of Tourism, the fair aims to showcase the diverse, bountiful cultural landscapes of the country’s major island groups – Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao – through vibrant presentations by homegrown talents bringing to life age-old customs and traditions, rituals and folklore.

Speaking on behalf of Acting Tourism Secretary and PTA GM and CEO Robert Dean Barbers, Edu Jarque, head of DOT’s Bureau of International Tourism and Promotion (and soon-to-be tourism attache to New York), addressed the crowd, "Your theme, Pagdiriwang: Sining at Paglikha, clearly implies the joyous festivities of a proud Filipino culture rich in tradition and the arts. Notably, we share a common desire to develop and promote Philippine tourism through events like this. In much the same way that we in the Department of Tourism also support exhibitions and fairs promoting the unique Filipino culture and traditions..."

Speaking in Taglish, Josephine Yap, Festival Supermall president, remarked, "It’s been our tradition at Festival Supermall to keep our history and native traditions alive by bringing to you our native songs, dances and folktales. In fact, last Christmas, we brought the award-winning Loboc Children’s Choir in their first-ever full-length concert inside a mall."

This afternoon at 3, Pagdiriwang ng Mindanao goes on stage with dances by the Talaandig tribe from Lantapan, Bukidnon. They will do a circle dance called dugso featuring women doing occupational dances, from planting to harvesting. At 5 p.m., the Tambuli Cultural Troupe from Susulan, Tawi-Tawi performs. Tomorrow, Pagdiriwang ng Visayas opens with Pakil’s bamboo whittling demo at 4:30 p.m. Featured performers are members of the ECD Dance Company who will do Visayan folk dances.

Next Saturday, Feb. 28, Pagdiriwang ng Luzon weaves magic with its Ifugao woodcarving and weaving demonstration at 3 p.m. At 4 p.m., the Samahang Moro-Moro ng Las Piñas Orihinal Inc. stages a moro-moro (komedya) called Sawing-palad.

And hear this: The fair closes on Feb. 29 with Bituin Escalante doing a string of soulful Filipino classics and the Sining Kumintang ng Batangas performing a dance suite celebrating the dance forms of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

So, shall we see you at the fair?