The Rotary Anns, led by First Ann Yvonne Kuan, wife of President Robert Kuan, are inviting– indeed, exhorting–all and sundry to view such high quality bazaar staples as off-the-rack clothes for men, women and children, leather goods, Christmas decor, toys, stationery, native crafts, linen, unique Christmas trees not available elsewhere, antiques, frames, jewelry–mostly products of native creativity, ingenuity, originality and resourcefulness.
A regular hallmark is the LAST ANGEL table with an angel-laden Christmas tree, each "angel" bearing the name of an indigent child a shopper can adopt for the holidays or give a present to.
The bazaar, actually the longest in existence–it’s on its 15th year–is reputedly the best attended for a very special reason: proceeds will fund PGH’s medical missions for those who can’t afford doctors. Its outreach program has already given out over eight million books to schools and libraries throughout the archipelago.
Rotary Anns working for what is rightly called "Bazaar with a Heart" are Stef Naval, Evelyn Glave, Menchit Ordoveza, Caling Young, Milette Carlos, Bettina Benitez, Tesha Garcia, Jean Chavez, Joey Roque, Mailou Alejandro, Terry Tambunting, Angela Quila and Glo Garcia–besides those pictured here.
"There will be food, gift items, toys, hardware, garments. The trade fair, now on its eighth year, has drawn exporters, foreigners, passersby for the wide variety of its products and the demonstration of its theme which, this year, is ‘Pride of the Panay Islands’. For one, the DTI aims at making Iloilo the ‘Bamboo Capital of the Philippines’ for the high quality and elegant design of its bamboo furniture which, according to DTI-Iloilo Director Diosdado Cadena, is of ‘international caliber’ having won various awards, even abroad.
"Indeed, the items at the Ilonggo Festival are ‘specialty products’, only a few of them are made because of their strict adherence to fine craftsmanship and design."
Della Jarantilla, president of the Ilonggo Producers Association, assures shoppers that the goods, attractive and competitive, are the best that IPA can offer. "Nothing pleases me more than seeing visitors coming out with items that they had long wanted to buy but could obtain only at the Ilonggo Festival," says Della.