600,000 revelers join Bangus Fest street party

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – The Kalutan ed Dalan street party of the Bangus Festival here has again proven to be a blockbuster as about 600,000 revelers from across the country came here Wednesday night for the grilling of the city’s bangus (milkfish) as one of the highlights of this biggest summertime festival.

Along the more than 3.5 kilometers’ stretch of the Pantal-Dawel-Lucao area, merrymakers converged for a nightlong grilling not only of bangus but other fish, vegetables, and meats while live bands performed on 10 stages. 

Some 1,300 grill pads were used by the revelers who bought them at P2,500 each with five kilos of bangus, charcoal and other condiments. Tents were set up to provide them shade until the wee hours.

Unlike in other areas in Pangasinan that experienced heavy rainfall, no rain dropped during the street party, making the people more jubilant until dawn Thursday.

The celebration was peaceful, too, said Superintendent Christopher Abrahano, as no untoward incidents were reported. The Army and other force multipliers helped the local police in providing security.

Mayor Belen Fernandez, fourth district Rep. Gina de Venecia, and Sen. Bam Aquino joined the people in lighting their grill pads during the street party.

“Every year, we improve in our handling of the Kalutan ed Dalan (Grilling on the Street) and preparations were really rigorous. But it’s worth it when you see the results,” Fernandez said.

She thanked the sponsors, the city employees and thousands of Dagupeños who made the event successful.  

After the festival, she said she would focus on her program on the development of the bangus industry.

“The festival is useless if we cannot improve the demand for Dagupan bangus,” she said.