Christmas Village draws in Bacolod folks

For years, a growing number of Bacolod residents flocked to the Christmas Village of artist-designer Bamboo Tonogbanua along San Juan Street, strange, because that major Christmas attraction is at his residence along San Juan Street.

Yesterday, the doors to the exhibit opened at precisely 6 p.m. Viewing time has been restricted up to 9 p.m.

Yesterday, however, the First Day of Advent, crowds of eager fans rushed to the exhibit. The main added attractions – pirates of the Caribbean unloading treasures to a festival Christmas Village.

That’s the beauty of Bamboo’s village. There are always interesting additions. All miniatures.

And he really spends time and money to look for welcome additions to his Christmas village.

The latest addition, aside from the pirates with their weapons and their ships, Bamboo included a new miniature building, fun rides and more villages.

They also included a ferries wheel, merry-go-round, saucer rides, two skating rinks, elf-life houses, an auto display shop, an art gallery, a Victorian doll houses, a new Tudor-style village with carriages.

Bamboo’s Christmas village also boasts of four separate railroad tracks that go through tunnels under the village, fiber optic lights that stimulate flowing water and other decors that recreate scans of a snow-covered Victorian and New England villages.

The number of visitors to the exhibit keeps mounting. And the problem is that Tonogbanua may finally be encouraged to put it up in a safe place but accessible to more fans.

But who can convince an artist to part with his creation?

Antique today vs yesterday

Once listed among the 19 poorest provinces of the country, Antique today is no longer that. And Gov. Sally Saldivar-Perez, who is also chair of the Regional Development Council, has reason to crow about her accomplishments.

The gains achieved by her administration were cited by Gov. Perez during her recent State of the Province Address Thursday last week.

She specifically mentioned the increase in provincial revenues, the positive results of the Local Government Performance Management System expanded social services, food security, education health, nutrition and tourism, history, culture and arts and the environment.

But Perez did not just devote her time to her province. As chairman of the RDC, she made preparations to hold a regular RDC conference in Roxas City scheduled for Dec. 5.

This will coincident with the Sinadya sa Halaran celebration from Dec. 4 to 8. The latter’s the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the Capiz capital.

Six congressmen from Metro Manila will also arrive in Roxas City on Dec. 6 to conduct a hearing on the ancestral domain issue, according to Capiz Gov. Victor A. Tanco Sr.