BACOLOD City – The city government allocated P5 million for the Bacolaodiat Festival in February.
The city council on Wednesday approved the request of Mayor Evelio Leonardia to allot the amount for the annual celebration that welcomes the Chinese New Year in Bacolod.
The money was transferred through a memorandum of agreement between the city government represented by Leonardia and the Bacolaodiat, Inc. represented by chairwoman Oddette Gomez.
Last year, the city government extended the same amount of assistance to Bacoloadiat – a word play of “Baco” for Bacolod and “Lao Diat” for the Fookien word that means celebration.
The festival – now on its 14th year – is set on Feb. 1 to 5.
One of its highlights is the lantern dance competition, wherein eight groups have confirmed to participate.
These are the Carlos Hilado Memorial State College-Alijis, Balow Dance Group, Granadianz, Double J Full Force, Choi Force, Rustylian, Jojaju, and defending champion BMD.
The festival will kick off with the “Dazzling Grand Parade” to be led by the Filipino-Chinese community in the city.
Other activities include a nightly fireworks display, a lantern-making contest, cultural events, Chinese food cooking demonstrations, and an exhibit of Asian arts and crafts at the Imperial Village./PN
