Sorsogon fishing town stages Paraw Festival

PILAR, Sorsogon, Oct. 5 (PNA) – Pilar in Sorsogon is gifted with a rich fishing ground and through a yearly week-long staging of modern rituals in expression of gratitude to the gods of the ocean, the ongoing Paraw Festival came into being here.

The festival’s name, Paraw was derived from the local term for nets made of indigenous materials used as fishing gear during the early generation.

“Paraw Festival, now on its second year is not just a tourism oriented affair but mainly a revelry of the town’s fishing communities dedicated to the gods of the oceans in thanksgiving to a year-round gift of good life derived from our fishing ground,” town mayor Dennis Reyes said.

This town that lies at the northern coastline of Ticao Pass where about 4,000 families rely mainly on fishing for their livelihood is among the top suppliers of high quality commercial fishes to major markets in the Bicol Region up to Metro Manila.

The Paraw Festival formally opened last October 1 with a colorful civic and military parade in the morning and an offshore 15-minute fireworks in the evening.

“Perhaps, this affair is a good reason why we were spared from the stormy weather brought about by typhoon Pablo that was forecast to hit our place on the same day,” Reyes said.

Street dancing, sports fair, boat races, trade fair, cultural presentations, beach parlor games for children are among the activities lined up for the nine-day festival.

All these activities would give a picture of fishermen’s life in and off the ocean featuring their practices that are friendly to the sea “so that we are able to impress upon the public attitudes toward the conservation and protection of our marine resources”, Reyes said.

Each night during the nine-day celebration, the “Ihaw-ihawan sa Kalsada” featuring a long line of stalls that offer ember-roasted fresh fishes to revelers would be around the downtown, he said.

The street dancing that will be part of the culminating activities on Oct. 9 would depict the culture and traditions of the municipality that serve as its standard for being friendly, peace-loving, hardworking and persevering towards progress and prosperity.

It will be participated in by contingents coming from barangays, schools, civic organizations and the senior citizen sector all in colorful traditional costumes that would surely offer wholesome entertainment to spectators including tourists and visitors.

The trade fair will showcase the native products, agricultural crops and business opportunities available in the municipality that is considered the main jumping board between the mainland Bicol and the island province of Masbate .

The town has been included in the Strong Republic Nautical Highway program of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the construction of a roll on-roll off harbor here has been scheduled to be started before the end of this year. It is expected to be completed and put on operations by 2010.