The pandemic made the world stops, it cleans busy roads and made people to stay home.  Anyway, after three years of not celebrating town fiesta, finally Odiongan was able to held one, simpler than the previous celebrations. Simpler in the sense, that there is no street dancing today and there is no Kanidugan Festival dance competition.

The highlights of today town fiesta is a float parade participated by clusters of barangays and some government agencies.  The town parade almost didn’t take place because it rained that day, and it is still drizzling when it happened.

Well, I really have no plans of going to town and watch the float parade, but thinking it was a first for my niece, we did go to town for her to see the floats and people. We went there, when it was already starting and we decided to find a good spot and location where we can see the whole parade without skipping anything.

[ Some floats have dancers to make the parade merrier and festive.]

There are only few floats, there are more people and groups who joined the town parade, especially fraternities and organizations, there was a short program in the town plaza after, but we didn’t see it anymore, we went home right after we saw the tail of the parade.

As you can see, the rain didn’t stop the people from going out, because the parade was already a big event after three years of community quarantines, as you know Philippines is still not mask free, and maybe there are still unreported cases until today. Well, who  will have the guts to report you are sick, by the way? Even me, maybe I will not tell anyone I have symptoms when I know that you and your family will be isolated without food to eat. LOL

The Kanidugan festival this year wasn’t too exciting, maybe because of the MIMAROPA Festival that was been held a few months ago in Odiongan. I think that’s how it works, if you already watched the big thing, small things doesn’t excites you that much anymore.  The festival wasn’t celebrated on the 5th, to give way to the procession of  Catholic church. The town parade was held in the morning of the 6th day of April, unlike the previous festival the contender this year where from different municipalities of Tablas island.

The first tribe where the Saginyogan Festival (Coco-Banana Festival) from the Municipality of Alcantara, their costume was mainly made of banana leaves and coconut. The festival was first presented in 2010 to bring awareness of the contribution of coconut and banana on enhancing the lives of the locals, especially the farmers.

The Governor of Romblon together with the government employees were in the parade too, everything was good not until one of them (people at the end) left a trash in the middle of the street, an empty water bottle. So disappointing, they should be the one to set an example to the local people eh.

Anyway, the next contender in the town parade was Tribu Banbanon from the Municipality of Looc, they are wearing vibrant color of fairy costumes, one thing you’ll notice on them they are all smiles, they were students of Looc National High School.

Romblon Baktas Mountaineer joins the town parade too, I didn’t go with them because I watched the parade with my mother I can’t left her alone in the street.  What I did was stop them to have a photo and I was dragged by a few to come with them but I declined and reasoned out.

The next contender was Tribu Biga-biga, as what I have heard they are made -up tribe in Odiongan, by the popular group of dancers E2. They are wearing a colorful pink mask and they dance in a a bit seductive manner as their tribe name says.

Tribu Febabosa was the last tribe in the town parade, their costume was exquisite, it is well designed.  When the parade ended we waited for my sister who paraded with her office mates and instead of going to a restaurant for lunch we decided to go home first to check what is our father doing after going home first.

Odiongan celebrated town fiesta every 5th of April but the celebration opened on the evening  of April 1st through a color run in the public plaza, a night inspired by light followed by a beach party featuring a reggae singer “Kokoi Baldo” then on the 2nd of April there was Agency Night sponsored by Romblon State University and Barangay Night on the next night sponsored by barangay associations. On April 4th a fluvial parade and oar boat racing in the town shoreline and grand coronation of Ms. Odiongan on the evening at Odiongan Public Plaza.

Kanidugan Festival is the highlight of Odiongan fiesta celebration, it was been a decade ago since it was first opened. When we went to town the parade and street dancing was already starting and the intersection going to the public market was already blocked with vehicles and people so we returned and use the other route but it was also blocked so went the other way and we are able to find a good place where we can see the street dancing but on my disappointment my camera didn’t cooperate with me, it won’t focus and there was too much light in the photos.

After the parade and street dancing the Kanidugan competition follows at OSCES grounds. It was a very hot day but there was a lot of people. It was a shame but many Odionganons left their manners at home that day, people were redundantly told to sit and not to leave their grounds so other people at the back can see but many didn’t listen so as expected everybody swarmed upfront and of course I wouldn’t just remain seated in the ground seeing different shape of legs and butts so I went nearer as well so I could take better photos.

Well, I wasn’t able to find a good spot but I can’t go back since a lot of people swarmed up in our back, it was very discomforting, it feels like my ear drums will pop out and when the current performers ends I left to find my companions and since most people left out of disappointment, the ground became a bit spacious and my companions were able to find a good spot beside the stage ground, I took a bit of photos and asked them to go home, the last tribe performing was very lame anyway, their sounds wasn’t good.

I think the people in San Agustin, Romblon during their festival and ground demonstration was more disciplined except from one teacher who also left her manners at home that day.

The fluvial parade at the sea or biniray was religiously done in the capital town of Romblon celebrating the devotion of the people to their religious beliefs but in recent years biniray was also done in the island of Odiongan although it wasn’t so fabulous like how it was celebrated during every second week of January in the capital town.

A day before the town fiesta of Odiongan there is a special celebration in the town shoreline aside from the fluvial parade of boats adorned with coconut leaves there is also a boat race.  A year ago they held Paraw Regatta a popular annual festival in the province of Iloilo where the main event is a sailboat race in Iloilo Strait that features the Paraw, a Visayan double outrigger sail boat. It is dubbed as the oldest traditional craft event in Asia and the largest sailing event in the Philippines but this year in Odiongan they held oar boat racing which was joined by more than fifteen boatmen, it was made possible under the management of DepED teachers in town.

Well, the boat race this year wasn’t very colorful like a year ago since the boats were not adorned with colorful sailboats. The boat race was themed “Bugsayan” since the participants will race using “bugsay” a local dialect for oar or paddle.

Many Odionganons were too excited that they started running in the shoreline when the racers are going ashore so dunno how the management find the winner when many people blocked the shoreline already, wasn’t able to take photos of the boatmen going ashore since my view was blocked with people.