• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
The 18th edition of the BacoLaodiat Festival in Bacolod City that will run from January 20 to 22 will be held in four different festival sites, BacoLaodiat Festival Organizing Committee treasurer Jennifer Gochangco-Ong said yesterday.
Ong said the opening ceremonies on January 20 will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) grounds, following a grand parade from Megaworld’s The Upper East to the BCGC grounds at 4 p.m. A cultural show will follow, with the participation of several Chinese schools and other groups.
The first day will be capped by a fireworks display at the BCGC and The Upper East at 9 p.m., she said.
Ong said they invited Chinese schools and Filipino-Chinese family organizations to join the parade, as well as the BacoLaodiat street dancers.
On January 21, a dog show will be held at 1 p.m. at the BCGC grounds, while five street dance groups will start their performances from The Upper East to the BCGC at 4 p.m., she said.
Ong said the lantern dance competition will be performed on stage,7 p.m., at the BCGC grounds on January 21.
Ong and Oddette Ong-Gomez invited festival goers to witness this year’s BacoLaodiat Festival.
A more vibrant celebration of the Lunar New Year is expected to take place in Bacolod City after the BacoLaodiat Festival Organizing Committee secured the support of Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez during their meeting at the BCGC on November 29, 2022.
BacoLaodiat Festival president Stephen Sy, along with board members Jennifer Gochangco-Ong and Emily Go-Villanueva, shared with the City Mayor their plans for the festival after two years of scaled down celebrations due to the pandemic.
“I will fully support this event because I have seen the presence and importance of the Filipino-Chinese community here in Bacolod in the fields of business and tourism among others,” Benitez said.
BacoLaodiat, the biggest citywide celebration of the Lunar New Year outside of Chinatown in Manila, will also feature the return of the Lantern Street Dance Competition, the Imperial Village and the Chopsticks Alley among others.
The festival aims not only to bring the Tsinoy community and Bacolodnons together but also to introduce Lunar new year practices to the general public.
Meanwhile, the BacoLaodiat Festival will once again showcase its famous Chopsticks Alley which will be strategically located at BCGC and Megaworld’s The Upper East during the city’s celebration of the Chinese New Year from Jan. 20 to 22.
This is the first time that the festival will have two venues for its famous food walk and night market that typically features Chinese culinary delights and Filipino street food favorites. “Among the many things we are delighted about is our partnership with Megaworld and the Bacolod City Government for the Chopsticks Alley which we expect will be patronized and visited by the general public in January,” Sy said.
With this announcement, BacoLaodiat Inc. is now opening slots and booth reservations until Jan. 13 for interested Chopsticks Alley tenants at the BCGC and The Upper East.
In its released guidelines, organizers will be providing tenants with a 10’x 10’ prime tent for P7,000 per tent at BCGC while The Upper East tenants will be charged P4,500 per tent.
Furthermore, food trucks and carts are also allowed with a fee of P 3,000 per space.
The organizers will take care of Chopsticks Alley site development while tenants have the liberty to dress up their booths at their cost. For more inquiries about guidelines and booth reservations, would-be tenants may email BacoLaodiatfestival@yahoo.com or contact Chopsticks Alley coordinators Kristelle Dullan at 0938-908-5936 and Ryann Marie Genit at 0938-985-4665.*
