Northern revelry

The quiet town of Liloan became the center of merriment and revelry in northern Cebu as the town concluded the merry-month-of-May with its annual festivities (May 29 & 30). For Liloanons, it is always double the celebration honoring patron saint San Fernando Rey and culminating the season of sun and frolic.

This year, townsfolk and visitors were treated to a variety of entertainment and activities as nightly features, sportsfest and even shopping highlighted the fiesta! Probably the biggest by far that I have witnessed Liloan has hosted, the Agri-Fair became the central attraction as the municipal grounds turned into a shopping center cum night market as exhibitors from all over the province showcased products and goods for great bargains: from fresh fruits to exotic plants, appliances and ceramic arts, native bags and sandals, local delicacies and even cell phones! For more than a week, the Fair attracted shoppers by the hundreds. But as the festival date drew near, it was the annual traditional feature entertainment that pulled in the residents' eager participation and at the same time added local color to the visitors' experience. Pageants All. Of course completing the festivities was the annual search for Miss Liloan. On the evening of the 29th, fifteen of the town's freshest young beauties paraded in front of a large audience in the Liloan KAI Sports Complex vying for the coveted title. They opened the pageant with a sexy Latin dance number, flaunted their curves in swimsuits then exuded elegance and poise in evening gowns. When trimmed down to eight semi-finalists, the ladies showed grace under pressure in the always-grueling interview. In the end, a belle from baranggay San Vicente, Yati-Ms. Marie Rose Sasing - brought home the crown.

As always, the pageant made an impression with its production design. Trimmed down from their more-often-than-not larger-than-life sets, organizers settled for a more practical one this year. All in immaculate white, the focal point was a spectacle in itself. Less sprawling than usual, the space was artistically functional that creative execution was no longer ambiguous. Choreography, complimented with contemporary and original musical score, was dynamic and alive. Obviously young blood has been injected in the creative direction-it's about time that the committee is tapping on youthful resources!

Every year, I keep my fingers crossed for a much better staging. After all, this is the festival highlight eagerly anticipated. Of course there is no such thing as a flawless presentation. Somehow glitches and unwanted surprises find their way in live shows but nothing that can't be prevented or corrected from previous presentations. If my memory serves me right, there was more than one fifteen-year-old candidate that when a fifteen made it to the semis, a bruhaha erupted during the interview. To the screening committee, please reconsider your age guidelines and save us all the embarrassment. I along with the audience around me felt sorry for the young lass. She was a stunner! Give it two, three more years she could have better chances. Another silly mishap was when the male host confidently called on a very honored guest for a short talk only to find out that her Honor already left the premises long before the program was halfway through. Director, please! (Was there a director?) Or, in this case, at least a Floor Director? Had there been frequent production meetings and a well-trained crew, this could have been avoided. And in an attempt to highlight each candidate, the male host obviously segued into his own flow during the swimsuit competition, leaving the candidates disoriented on stage. Rehearsals and briefing would have prevented this sudden swerve from the sequence.

And for the nth time, the pageant lasted for four hours! Spectators were tortured, as they had to sit through supposed avoidable lags and lapses. With intermissions getting redundant and pacing erratic-momentum plunged therefore losing the oh-ah factor. The Director still has to find out the effective (and artistic) way to present gifts/tokens to candidates with out delaying the program but sufficiently exposing product sponsors. Finally, after all these years of experience, organizers still hasn't figured out a fast and efficient way of tabulation. Waiting for the final results ate too much time. The pageant's only saving grace was guest host Katherine Garbonino. She kept the program together with appropriate spiels and comments. She stuck with what is relevant-and that is how it should be!

Meanwhile, on a similar event and filling in for the very popular Liloan Fiesta Girl pageant (slated to return next year) was the search for Mr. Liloan. On its debut presentation, ten gorgeous hunks completed the first batch of bachelors to vie for the title and strutted their wares in a three-part competition.

Though failing to substantially gather audience (information campaign was minimal) it somehow did not hinder organizers to stage a remarkable event. Though less spectacular, the program was fast and efficiently executed! With not much frills and less ado, it ran flawlessly. Definitely Mr. Liloan will be a mainstay for the celebrations to come.

Wild And Wacky. The biggest crowd-drawer and pleaser was the Fisheries Night and probably the longest running (for almost six decades) entertainment tradition in the municipality. The members of the Liloan Fisheries Inc. never fail to spread cheers and lots of laughs with their own brand of amusement. This year's theme was 'Life Goes On'. Amidst all the chaos in the world and after catastrophic natural phenomenon, the Fisheries Night celebrated Filipino resilience and ability to inject humor no matter how trying life can be at times.

The program opened with a theatrical presentation depicting the aftermath of a natural disaster. Interpreted in dance-drama from the brilliant fusion of inspirational songs, the talented Fisheries members imparted messages of unity and prosperity. And just when you think everything went utterly serious, the wacky and eccentric nature of the Fisheries emerged and dominated the evening, putting audiences in constant uproar and at the edge of their seats with rib-tickling laughs and giggles!

On the same event, the vaudeville of comic musical numbers and whimsical gags was fused with a gender-bending search for a Supermodel. It was a show within a show as fourteen Adonises-turned-mermaids sashayed on the ramp in a glittering production characterized with wigs, heel-twisting, awkward dressing and lots of make-up! Stealing the title was candidate number eleven who captured everyone's attention when he pulled a 'Miriam Quimbao'. He also bagged Best in Cocktail Dress while candidate numbers one and ten shared the limelight as the Best in Swimwear and Best in Sports Wear respectively.