The municipality of Valencia in Negros Oriental is officially launching its month-long celebration of its festival, dubbed Chada! Valencia, in May this year to promote the town’s community-based tourism as well as its culture, arts and heritage, among others.
Mayor Edgar Teves, in a press conference Friday, announced the grand launching will be on Sunday after the Catholic Mass although on May 1st, the municipality opened its Food, Products (agriculture and furniture), Plants and Art Exhibit.
The Mayor said that Chada! Valencia will be the town’s premiere showcase of its eco-tourism potentials, considering that it has plenty of natural tourist destinations such as waterfalls, mountain resorts, lush forests, lakes, man-made and natural swimming lagoons, adventure sports and the vast geothermal resources, among others.
The word chada is coined from the Cebuano term patsada, meaning beautiful, and which is widely used in Negros Oriental compared to its neighboring Visayan provinces, Teves said.
One of the main concentrations of the month-long undertaking is the showcasing of the various flowers and decorative plants in Valencia, an industry which had seen a decline in the past years but will now be revived and strengthened, according to Teves.
Mayor Teves said the local government is now embarking on efforts to pump up the cut flower industry in Valencia, with the recent visit of a known cut-flower technician from abroad.
Jose Marie de los Santos had visited the municipality recently for a survey of the town’s potential in the cut flower industry. He had asked for salient information such as climate statistics and soil analysis to help him in his study for Valencia’s cut flower trade.
On the other hand, the municipal government is also spending for the visit of at least 38 ornamental plant growers from Valencia to Davao for a learning tour in that city made famous for its cut flower industry, especially on orchids, Mayor Teves said.
The month-long activities include a sporting event dubbed “Ligiron Race” featuring an indigenous hauler made of wood and was popular in the 1960s in transporting farm produce.
Other highlights include a video presentation of the tourist destinations in Valencia, a duathlon (marathon and bike) Chada Valencia night showcasing the town’s talents and a video presentation of its tourism destinations, International Women’s Health Day with free pap smear for women constitutents, and the Santa Cruzan or Flores de Mayo (May Flower) festival on May 31 to culminate the celebration.
Councilor Elsie Dagoy, chairman of the Committee on Tourism of the Valencia municipal council and concurrent Tourism Officer, named a few of the famous tourism destinations in the town, such as Red River Valley Falls, Ocean 24, Red Rock, the Japanese Amity Shrine in Sagbang, Casaroro Falls, Tejero Resort & Swimming Lagoon, Forest Camp, Camp Lookout, and the three lakes in Cuernos de Negros.
Valencia is also popular for mountain climbers from different parts of the country who come to conquer Mt. Talinis with more than 6,000 feet of elevation.
Mayor Teves assured that complementary to all efforts to boost the tourism industry in Valencia will be prudence and wise construction of infrastructure, such as roads, to ensure the protection and conservation of the environment.
Meanwhile, he said the multi-million pesos ongoing road construction along the national highway leading to Valencia is not a hindrance to the Chada! Valencia celebration this month, even though it would cause some inconvenience to road users.
Teves said the road concreting, once completed, will improve access to the town in the coming years as he foresees that Chada! Valencia will not just be a one-time endeavor as he disclosed hopes of institutionalizing it to become a regular celebration. (PNA)
