With a race course stretching about 30 kilometers, the Paraw Regatta Festival is touted as the biggest competitive sailing event in the country and the oldest traditional craft event in Asia.
Like other festivities, however, it was not immune from being halted due to the pandemic.
As we hoist the sails again for the 50th Paraw Regatta Festival, the celebration is anchored on the theme “Sailing Through the Waves of Ilonggo Tradition and Progress.”
The face-to-face staging of the Paraw Regatta Festival after a three-year hiatus ia a collaborative effort of various stakeholders headed by the festival committee under the auspices of the Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc.
During the main sailing event this Sunday, March 19, the race course stretches from Villa Beach in the Arevalo, Iloilo City to Guimaras Island and back to Villa beach.
The Sinamba sa Regatta is also one of the highlights of the festival, which will be held at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand this Saturday, March 18.
Other activities include Pinta Regatta: Paraw Painting Competition (March 14 to 31) at Festive Walk Mall Iloilo; Paraw Slalom Competition (March 16) at Tatoyâs Arevalo; Bayle sa Magwayen (March 17 to 18) at Magwayen Bistro Arevalo; Miniature Making Contest and Exhibit (March 17 to 24) at SM City Southpoint; HIT IT!: The Paraw Regatta Festival Ultimate Fitness Challenge (March 18) at Tatoyâs Arevalo; Beach Standup Paddle (March 17 to 18); and Beach Football Tournament 2023, National Ultimate Frisbee Tournament 2023 and Beach Volleyball (March 18 to 19).
The regatta was established primarily to preserve the paraw as a significant link to the earliest period of Ilonggo history, despite the emergence of motorized bancas.
The paraw is a small boat with two stabilizers and was widely used for travel and trade during ancient times. A strikingly fast boat, the paraw makes 20 kilometers per hour (kph) to 30 kph through the waves./PN
