Tagum's Durian Fest formally opens

TAGUM CITY -- Mindanao's biggest Culinary Olympics formally opened on August 17 that aims to celebrate the King of Philippine Fruits, Durian and other yields of the fields in the city’s very own Durian Festival.

The Durian Festival is a month-long celebration starting August 17 to September 17, featuring events/competitions like the Food Basket in the 23 barangays of the city, durian kakanin, chef's relay, coffee blending, cocktail flairtending, durian petit four, durian celebration cake, durian dessert buffer and the best durian fruit competition.

From August 17 to September 17, the highly-anticipated Durian Trade Fair will also treat Tagumeños and local tourists with wide varieties of durian on sale that ranges from P40 to P60 per kilo.

The festival was formally opened by City Councilor De Carlo L. Uy together with Councilor Joedel Caasi the committee on Agriculture, Engr. Eduardo T. Omandac and chair of Durian Festival 2012 and City of Tagum Tourism Council Alma L. Uy, at the Rotary Park on Pioneer Ave. here.

The opening ceremonies started with a motorcade of the different durian growers and farmers of the Plant Now Pay Later Program of Tagum City Mayor Rey T. Uy, followed by the parade of chefs and bartenders, school's banner raising and the opening program.

The "Durian Plant Now, Pay Later" program is another brainchild project of Mayor Uy that started in 1997 when he was still a provincial board member of Davao del Norte and was later given a boost in 2000 when he assumed the position as the city mayor of Tagum.

At present, there are already 210 hectares of durian farms in the city that span in 14 barangays of the city and have benefited a total of 210 farmers, according to Bernie Suego, agricultural specialist of the Tagum City Agriculture Office.

He said in the span of four years, the city government provided the inputs (seedlings, fertilizers and chemicals) to the beneficiaries of the program and on the seventh year, they have to pay annually the 30 percent of the total acquisition cost they got through the program.

The fastest person to open a durian was the first competition staged during the opening ceremony along with a durian- eating contest that was divided into two categories: the kids and adults. A foreigner conducting a research for their blog about the year of the durian even participated in the Durian Eating contest.

In the Cocktail Flair tending Competition, several schools showcased their mastery on bartending with a twist using durian on their cocktail. The seven participating students from the different schools in Davao region left the crowd in awe as they performed their stunts on bartending.