Siquijor’s Lubi Festival draws huge crowd

Thousands flock Maria town as dancers from its different barangays, clustered into four, perform Wednesday in the Lubi Festival street dancing and showdown that takes off at the Maria Municipal Hall.

Lubi Festival, now on its third year, showcases various coconut products of the town through a trade fair, dances and street revelry which serves as the highlight of the festivities in honor of Our Lady of Divine Providence on May 24. It is also seen as a way of boosting the town’s tourism industry and hastening the farmer’s adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies to increase their productivity and income.

Coconut is one of the main products of the town, one of the key elements in the identification of Coconut Production as the town’s ‘One Town, One Product” (OTOP) project of the government to realize its goal for economic development. Others, being rich in cultural tradition and local talents as skillfully shown in the Lubi Festival.

Contingent are form District I, composing of barangays Bogo, Olang, Poblacion Norte, Licoan and Bonga; District II – Cabala-asan, Poblacion Sur, Looc, Calunsaan, Pisong A and Pisong B; District III – Cantaroc A and B, Candaping A and B, Cantugbas and Sawang; and District IV – Saging, Liloan, MInalulan, Nabutay and Logucan.

The fiesta celebration also featured sports activities such as basketball and inter-barangay volleyball for men and women that started as early as May 5; Pepsi Night; Singing Idol, sponsored by the Lomongo Family, Basketball sa mga Bayot sponsored by the Ave Maria Alumni; Bisperas Disco with live band; and Grand Disco, sponsored by the Poblacion Norte and Poblacion Sur officials.