The Dumaguete City government has allocated P6 million for the celebration of one of the country’s emerging vibrant Sandurot Festival this year.
Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo expects thousands of visitors to witness this year’s Sandurot Festival, which showcases the spectacular uniqueness of Dumaguete’s Sandurot Pasundalan street dance and Pasundayag showdown to be held Saturday, Sept. 28.
In a press conference, Dumaguete Tourism Officer Katherine Aguilar disclosed there are 13 participating contingents from the schools and barangays.
She said the festival will not only help provide economic stability in the City but also showcase the talents of local artists from Negros Oriental.
“The City Tourism wants to convey the history, culture and heritage of Sandurot Festival in a unique way by telling a story. This is also a great story to inform the younger generations about the history of Sandurot Festival and Dumaguete City,” said Aguilar.
This year’s 36th Sandurot Festival is celebrated from Sept. 20 to 30.
The festival will be highlighted by the following events, namely: Paghimamat, a get-together which tells the story of Dumaguete; the Pasundalan or street dance; and the Pasundayag or showdown which features different dance contingents from the schools and barangays.
Other events include the Sandurot Half Marathon, Paghimamat, DumaKaon ta, Sinina Sandurot Fashion Costume Competition, Local Creative & Producers Market, the Budbud Gabi-Making Contest, Sandurot Photo Exhibit, Suroy, Hari ug Reyna ng Sandurot, Terra Cotta Exhibit, and Hiniusang Sayaw.
Winners for the Pasundalan street dance for both school and barangay competition will receive cash prizes of P150,000 and a trophy for 1st place; P100,000 for 2nd place, and P75,000 for 3rd place.
For the Pasundayag showdown, winners of both school and barangay categories will also receive cash prizes of P150,000 and a trophy for 1st place; P100,000, 2nd place; and P75,000, 3rd place.
A consolation prize of P50,000 will be given to each of the participating contingents.
Top five winners with combined overall ranking both from the school and barangay categories will also get P2 million worth of projects for the 1st place, P1.5 million worth of projects for the 2nd place, P1M worth of projects for the 3rd place, P750,000 in projects for the 4th place, and P500,000 in projects for the 5th place.
Last weekend, the Sandurot Half Marathon was participated in by about 325 runners from across the country.
The Paghimamat last week was a theatrical production that showcased the abundant heritage and history of the City.
Dumakaon ta held Sept. 20 was a culinary exhibit of the dishes from Dumaguete’s best restaurants and food stalls, offering local and international flavors.
The Sinina Sandurot Fashion Costume Competition, on its 4th edition, showcased the elegant and vibrant festival costumes of local designers.
Other significant events include the Hari ug Reyna ng Sandurot on Sept. 25; and Terra Cotta Exhibit, which displays the artworks of renowned artists symbolizing the community’s wealth and treasure through yuta (red soil) or the so-called rich clay that runs until Sept. 30.
“We are more prepared to stage different significant events of Sandurot Festival this year so we are inviting our neighboring provinces and LGUs to witness Dumaguete’s cultural festival,” said the Mayor. (JCT/PIA-7 NegOr, with reports from Jonah Nicolas and Princess Ayne Avellana/NORSU interns)
