Bilar marked its annual fiesta with the Pangani Festival as the centerpiece of celebrations held May 15, honoring the town’s patron saint St. Isidore the Laborer, Mayor Norman “Tata” Palacio said.
Festivities ran from May 5, featuring a farmers’ market called the “tabo” at the town plaza that showcased agricultural products from local farmers.
Bohol Island State University and the Department of Education co-sponsored evening shows, while performers from Cebu headlined the nightly entertainment leading up to the fiesta day.
Other activities included a band competition aimed at discovering local talent, a boxing match meant to develop potential athletes, and a dancesport competition organized by the Sangguniang Kabataan.
Trainers from Tagbilaran City were hired to prepare the youth competitors.
Palacio also held an awarding ceremony recognizing Bilar’s outstanding farmers.
However, the mayor said some activities were scaled back and certain elements of the Pangani Festival were simplified in response to the country’s fuel price crisis, opting for a more austere celebration.
A basketball tournament remained ongoing as a youth development program, Palacio said, describing it as a means to keep young people away from bad habits.
Palacio shared details of the fiesta activities in a phone interview with Open Forum’s Ardy Araneta-Batoy and Gloria Leodivica Araneta.