5th Sunrise Fest set in Pampanga

MABALACAT, Pampanga – No less then 200 artists, writers and “cultural workers” from all over the country will gather at the lahar-covered foot of the Mabalacat-Bamban Bridge here for the 5th Sunrise Festival on Nov. 28-30.

The Sunrise Festival is an annual event staged by the Maharlika Artists and Writers Federation (MAWF).

It will be held for the first time in Pampanga with the support of the Pampanga Artists’ Guild, Mabalacat Council for Culture and Arts headed by Sigfried Ranada, the Department of Tourism in Region 3, and Mabalacat Mayor Marino Morales, who will also serve as director of the 5th Sunrise Festival.

MAWF national director Deo Palma said the Sunrise Festival, first staged in Cebu City in 2004, aims to bring together artists and writers from various cultural communities nationwide “to promote a culture of peace through arts and literature.”

The festival, to be held on lahar-covered grounds at the Mabalacat-Bamban Bridge, will feature Aeta presentations, fora, musical performances, poetry reading, story-telling, theatrical presentations, and such events known as “pistang pananari” and “pistang pintados.”

Also slated are an arts workshop for children and the visually impaired, and “indigenous marriages.” – Ding Cervantes