All twenty-five (25) Local Government Units in the province are joining in the major activities of this year’s Buglasan Festival, Festival Director Glynda Descuatan revealed during the Buglasan Press Launching yesterday at the Negros Oriental Convention Center Plenary Hall.
Provincial Tourism Officer and Tourism Board Executive Director Woodrow Maquiling Jr. disclosed that a total of P700,000 will be given to the participating LGU as cash subsidies and broken down to P400,000 for the Festival of Festivals, P200,000 for the Booth, P60,000 for the Grand Float Parade and P40,000 for the Miss Negros Oriental.
While the provincial government is setting aside more than P1,000,000 in cash prizes and another P1,000,000 worth of projects for the winning LGUs, he added.
Mr. Maquiling further said this year’s Buglasan Festival is Governor Manuel Sagarbarria’s call to unity and unify the whole province and the people through the Buglasan Festival which is considered as the provincial fiesta and he is glad that most LGUs are participating in the different activities this year.
Except for the Municipality of Bacong, all other LGUs are joining the Booth Competition at the vicinity of the Provincial Capitol where they will showcase their local produce and beautiful destinations during the whole Buglasan duration which will commence on October 14 and will close on October 22, 2023.
There will be a slight deviation for this year’s highly-anticipated Festival of Festivals competition which is slated on October 20 as the showdown will be after the street dancing competitions. The competition will start at 2pm along the main thoroughfares of Dumaguete City and the showdown is set at 5pm at the Lamberto Macias Sports and Cultural Center.
The provincial government has also requested for a special non-working holiday on this day so everyone could join and enjoy the grandest festival of festival’s celebration with ten (10) participating festivals which are the Bais City’s Tapasayaw Festival, Basay’s Kapaw Festival, Tawo-tawo Festival of Bayawan City, Pasayaw Festival of Canlaon City, Dauin’s Kinaiyahan Festival, Dumaguete City’s Sandurot Festival, Hambabalud Festival of Jimalalud, Langub Festival of Mabinay, Mantood Festival of Manjuyod and Sinulog de Tanjay of Tanjay City.
Meanwhile, this year’s Miss Negros Oriental has the highest number of participating LGUs since its inception. Except for Pamplona and Siaton, twenty-three (23) young ladies who will represent their respective LGUs will vie for the Miss Negros Oriental pageant on October 15, 2023, 8pm, at the Lamberto Macias Sports and Cultural Complex.
Another highlight of this year’s Buglasan Festival will be the first-ever Grand Float Parade Competition set on the afternoon of October 21st around the streets of Dumaguete City.
This competition is reminiscent to that of the colorful Panagbenga Festival of Baguio City and will have nine (9) participating LGUs and these are the cities of Bais, Bayawan and Dumaguete as well as the municipalities of Dauin, Jimalalud, Mabinay, Siaton, Sibulan, and Vallehermoso.
Except for the Hari ng Negros pageant that has 27 participating LGUs from all over the Negros Island, all other events have participants who are representing their respective LGUs in Negros Oriental. These are the Gandang NegOrense pageant for the LGBTQ + with 19 participants, 20 participants for Singing Idol, 15 participants each for the Rural and Western Folk Dance competitions, and 14 participants for the Flavors of Sidlakan formerly known as the Lutong Garbo Competition.
The opening salvo is slated on October 14th and will commence with a Civic-Military Parade around the streets of Dumaguete and will be followed by an Ecumenical Service, the Unveiling of the New Freedom Park, Ribbon Cutting of the 24 LGU Booths, and the Buglasan Fashion Show which feature the participants of the Miss Negros Oriental, Hari ng Negros, and Gandang NegOrense.
Another event worth looking forward to is the 3-day Buglasan Music Street Fest where about a 2-kilometer stretch along Flores Avenue, better known as Escaño, will be closed to the traffic and transformed into a street party with several bands performing each night.
Other exciting activities scheduled for the Buglasan are “Dulhog” Downhill and Enduro Mountain Bike Competition on October 7 & 8 in Valencia, Buglasan Festival Costume Expo on October 7 until 22 at the Robinsons Place Dumaguete, Buglasan Endurance Moto-Tour on October 14 & 15, Buglasan Underwater Photo Competition on October 14-22, Kamugnaan: A Buglasan Art Exhibit on October 14-25 at Mugna Art Galleryy in Valencia;
Agricultural Farmers Fair on October 15-18 at Robinsons Place Dumaguete, Buglasan 9-Ball Billiards Competition on October 17-21 at Daniel3 in EJ Blanco Road, Mr and Ms Buglasan Fitness Icon on October 18 at the Plenary Hall of the Negros Oriental Convention Center, Buglasan Multi-Breed Dogshow on October 19 at Robinsons Place Dumaguete, Power 91 Apo Concert Joins Buglasan Festival on October 20 at the Claire Isabel McGill Luce Auditorium, and Buglasan Inter-High School Streetdance Competition on October 21 at the Lamberto Macias Sports and Cultural Complex.
The closing and awarding ceremony will be October 22 at the Freedom Park Stage and will have the fireworks display after.
Governor Manuel “Chaco” Sagarbarria invites all NegOrenses as well as our friends from the surrounding provinces and across the country to come and enjoy our rich cultural heritage as we celebrate our province’s grandest annual fiesta this October.
