Sigpawan Festival sa Lemery
On 08 April 2007, the Municipality of Lemery, Batangas is organizing the first Sigpawan Festival as a celebration of the town’s long history as a fishing community benefiting from the resources coming from Balayan Bay.
Lemery is 113 kilometers from Manila and 26 kilometers from Batangas City, the provincial capitol. Statistics reveals it is one of the most prosperous towns of Batangas with majority of its land area used for agricultural industries such as farming, fisheries, and livestock. Yet the town is also quite known for its dozen resorts which attract local tourists especially during the heat of the summer.
Recognizing the bounty of its natural resources, Lemery’s leaders would like to highlight during Sigpawan festival a spirit of thanksgiving amongst the local people. “Sigpaw” is the local word for a “small net with a handle” that is used by fisher folks to scoop fish from wide fishnets then transferred to containers and delivered to the local markets.
The festival will feature simultaneous religious and cultural activities starting with a thanksgiving mass in honor of San Roque, the town’s patron saint then followed by a parade from the church going to the fishport. Meantime, a wall painting contest goes on at the town’s elementary school participated in by the young artists of Lemery. These are then followed by live band performances and awarding ceremonies.
The afternoon’s highlight is a featured tour of the sites to see in Lemery such as the Fantasy World located on the top of a hill, the Leisure Farm, Taal Volcano, the Taal Basilica (once the biggest church in East Asia), and the Pansipit River which is famous for its Maliputo fish.
Through the Sigpawan Festival, the Municipal Government of Lemery as well as the Lemery Development Foundation, Inc. envisions a renewed interest in the town as tourist destination where local and foreign tourists alike will have the experience of communing with the rich colors of a typical Filipino fishing community.
On 08 April 2007, the Municipality of Lemery, Batangas is organizing the first Sigpawan Festival as a celebration of the town’s long history as a fishing community benefiting from the resources coming from Balayan Bay.
Lemery is 113 kilometers from Manila and 26 kilometers from Batangas City, the provincial capitol. Statistics reveals it is one of the most prosperous towns of Batangas with majority of its land area used for agricultural industries such as farming, fisheries, and livestock. Yet the town is also quite known for its dozen resorts which attract local tourists especially during the heat of the summer.
Recognizing the bounty of its natural resources, Lemery’s leaders would like to highlight during Sigpawan festival a spirit of thanksgiving amongst the local people. “Sigpaw” is the local word for a “small net with a handle” that is used by fisher folks to scoop fish from wide fishnets then transferred to containers and delivered to the local markets.
The festival will feature simultaneous religious and cultural activities starting with a thanksgiving mass in honor of San Roque, the town’s patron saint then followed by a parade from the church going to the fishport. Meantime, a wall painting contest goes on at the town’s elementary school participated in by the young artists of Lemery. These are then followed by live band performances and awarding ceremonies.
The afternoon’s highlight is a featured tour of the sites to see in Lemery such as the Fantasy World located on the top of a hill, the Leisure Farm, Taal Volcano, the Taal Basilica (once the biggest church in East Asia), and the Pansipit River which is famous for its Maliputo fish.
Through the Sigpawan Festival, the Municipal Government of Lemery as well as the Lemery Development Foundation, Inc. envisions a renewed interest in the town as tourist destination where local and foreign tourists alike will have the experience of communing with the rich colors of a typical Filipino fishing community.
27 March 2007
for press release to Philippine Star
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