Well, as I have mentioned in my previous post, the Kanidugan Festival was moved to the 10th of April to give way or to respect the holy week. We are requested to join the town parade for a small compensation, the town parade started at eight o’clock in the morning it was epic actually because when we arrived the street was already closed, so we have no choice but to walk to the assembly area and it was just right on time that when I arrived at the elementary school, the parade was just about to start. I wasn’t able to find my coworkers, so I joined with the LGU family whom I am friends with, and when we went out, I found my co-workers standing in the corner so I  left the line, and joined them.

Anyway, the parade was spearheaded by the municipal officials, followed by the municipal employees, it was actually kind of boring to just walk, so I created my own world and my own dance steps, haha. I asked my workmates to dance with me, but they are kind of shy to do it, so I have to do it alone, until I went up front and met the employees from MS who were I think also bored walking and they are dancing in their own way while complaining that the drum beats were too sad to follow.

It was fun being included in the parade, but it was quite boring because you can’t see and enjoy the Kanidugan Festival, especially the street dancing. I decided to go on Facebook live, showing what is happening around me, and talking to my workmates and even to my viewers, and with that, I wasn’t able to take a lot of pictures.

The town parade took longer than expected, because of the street dancing, we have to stop many times to wait for them, When we are almost near the starting point, I walked back to find my batchmates, who are at the end of the parade, it was a bad decision because they are that quite far and it would be a better decision if I waited until we reached the endpoint.

Well, when I arrived at my batchmate’s location they were already planning to leave the parade because it is almost ten o’clock in the morning and our reunion program will soon start, so when we reach a certain point, we exited.

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.