ROXAS CITY, Capiz (PIA) — A local shellcraft vendor was upbeat that the kick-off of the month-long provincewide Christmas Festival dubbed “Paskwa sang Maragtas” last Dec. 1 was a good start for her business.
Perla’s shellcraft products which include a chime, mini-star, candle holders and lamp shades design. (File photo)
“I was able to dispose of 14 small stars made of Capiz shells on the opening day of the celebration,” said Perla, an 80-year-old entrepreneur who shared a kiosk with another exhibitor for the Christmas Bazaar at the Capiz Provincial Park in the city to display her carefully-made shell crafts.
The marketing component of the festival showcases and offers the local government unit’s products
and specialties like native delicacies, fruits, agri-aquamarine products, processed foods, crafts, and woodworks, among other souvenir items.
The festival is being participated in by Roxas City and the 16 municipalities whose collective participation creates one Christmas Village for the whole province as an attraction for local and international tourists.
Gov. Fredenil H. Castro led the ceremonial lighting of the provincial government’s Christmas Village at the Provincial Park that signaled the provincewide simultaneous ringing of Catholic Church bells as a bold and extraordinary gesture of anticipating the birth of Christ commemoration.
“Our lighting of the Christmas Village manifests our hopes and prayers to God that we will also have brighter days ahead in our lives,” the Governor said.
The parols outside the Christmas Village at the Capiz Provincial Park in Roxas City.
Hundreds of residents witness the ceremonial switch on or light up of the Christmas Village at the Provincial Park in Roxas City, Dec. 1.
The various LGUs have prepared band and entertainment performances, fireworks displays, and character costume contests, among others, in the opening of their respective Christmas Villages coined “Paskwa ni JuOne” which is characterized by elaborate displays depicting the Story of the Nativity of Jesus Christ and the life of the Holy Family.
The Christmas Village version of Panitan town. (Photo by Pusong Paniteño FB Page)
Paskwa ni JuOne is a competition among the local government units as the best diorama for the theme, wherein winners will be determined based on a set of criteria.
Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Officer Alphonsus Tesoro, during a Dec. 1 episode of the PIA Kapihan sa SM, said that visitors and tourists will really feel Christmas upon entry at the border of the province because of the Christmas decorations and food sold along the highway and singing of traditional Christmas carols.
Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office head Alphonsus Tesoro discusses the various activities for the month-long Capiz Christmas Festival during the PIA Kapihan sa SM, Dec .1. (PIA Capiz photo)
“The Maragtas intend to attract visitors and tourists to create employment opportunities and for businesses to thrive not only for our hotels, resorts, and restaurants but also for our Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) who own souvenir shops, and farm tourism sites,” Tesoro noted.
The tourism initiative will be complemented by the “LagawOne Group Tours” or a curated tour that will showcase the tourism attractions,
product offerings, Christmas Village and Bazaar, culture and traditions, and the arts and crafts of city/municipal destinations.
“We encourage everyone to visit all the Christmas Village attractions provincewide this Holiday season,” he stressed.
The celebration will also include the opening salvo for Capiztahan 2024, which marks the province’s 123rd founding anniversary of the establishment of its civil government, at the Provincial Capitol Grounds here. (AGP/AAL/PIA Capiz)
