Wednesday, June 18, 2008 Things they did last summer By Edwin G. Espejo
WHAT a way to end the summer.
With the moon rising almost to its full, the white sands of Gumasa were glistening and the shores filled with silhouettes of tents of all colors and sizes.
The blare of heart-pounding, feet-stomping humongous speaker system by Davao's Dave Domingo playing to the beat of Beat Lab and DJ Academy drowned the awe and inspired the smiles of the crowd that continued to grow until the wee hours in the morning.
It was Gumasa's third summer beach party. And what a party it was.
"Tonight we are holding Mindanao's biggest beach party," 31-year-old Sarangani governor Miguel Rene Alcantara Dominguez proclaimed to the crowd.
What it lacked in accommodation and food, Gumasa's White Haven Beach Resort more than made up for the sheer rawness of the excitement and outlandishly entertaining night.
For the third year in a row, the resort played host to party that has become a fixture and must-be-on and must-be-seen event every Sarangani Bay Festival celebration, also on its third year.
Three years ago, the resort only had a couple cottages and a two-room guesthouse to speak of. Now, its owner Dr. Ernesto Adarna has added up rows of cottages that were all occupied last May 17, party night.
The big event almost never came.
The night before, howling winds and heavy rains tore down several tents put up by Smart Communications Inc., one of the major sponsors of the shindig.
The makeshift steel stage collapsed that evening sending Kye Montemayor, Gov. Dominguez's executive assistant, into panic.
She asked the governor if it was prudent to cancel the event. She got a big NO for an answer from the governor.
"If it's (stage) broken down, we repair it," he said. And so it was welded and made all over again.
Some guys are just born lucky. The following day, the sun shone at its brightest and despite the sweltering heat, the smiles were back.
By mid-afternoon, the place was teeming with people--with a few celebrities and tourists spicing up the scene.
ANC's Tina Muñoz-Palma sat beside the young governor under one of two huge silk canopies set up on the beach front, courtesy of Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. (CCBPI). The two were exchanging banters, unperturbed by the growing horde of partygoers.
Earlier that day, two major races were held at Recon Beach, also in Glan, where eight teams of lung-busters swam the 15-kilometer Tinoto-to-Tango relay race and a coterie of 32 'pakura' (small outrigger boats) raced to a multiple-stage championship prize of P20,000 and a 10 horse power marine engine.
The afternoon crowd was also treated to spectacular display of ridesmanship from jetski riders who flew all the way from Manila along with two container vans of water sports rides.
Those were just the aperitifs of what will soon become the loudest and wildest party in town.
The night was ushered at dusk by several local bands playing cover songs and their own compositions, not the least was MIGS band (no pun intended to the governor whose nickname is Migs). It actually means musically inclined group of Sarangani. You dig that?
Migs Band segued to the entrance of Eric Gancho, the other half of the late '80's popular band Yano.
Eric never lost his touch. He had the crowd slowly hip-swaying with his catchy Tsinelas. That promptly had the governor throwing his Havaianas flip-flops to the stage. It almost brought the house down.
By the time lady jock in two-piece black swimsuit hit the turntable, the house -- err beach -- was already rocking crazy to the beat.
And so the party erupted into frenzy.
A couple of beer later, Vice Governor Steve Solon was break-dancing onstage -- in only his shorts and all.
No space was left unoccupied in front of the stage. Beer flowed for those who can shell out 40 bucks each bottle of San Mig Lights (Sorry folks, the food was as scarce as oasis in the desert but beer was still cheap).
The guv was enjoying his night. Who won't if someone's beside you?
What completes a beach party? Firedancers, of course! And they were there in their skimpy swimwear to regale the crowd.
And then the fireworks. Aren't fireworks exclamation points to a party? No, it wasn't to be that evening. It only further fanned the fiery night.
It was almost daybreak when the stage was finally emptied and the crowd receded to their tents and cottages.
Party over?
No, not yet. The following evening, a Sunday, it was battle of the bands galore and that too lasted well into the morning. This time there was no break-dancing onstage. Only loud cheers and yelling from locals who finally get to let their hairs down.
When finally it was over, governor quickly summoned his staff for a quick checklist of what went right and what went wrong.
Food and accommodation topped that list.
"With food, we can turn it around next time. We will make sure everybody gets to buy the food they want and have their fill," he said.
The rooms? While these can be improved, the governor says converting the fine, powdery white sand beaches of Gumasa into a one big tent city is not a bad idea at all.
"It's the adventure that makes the Gumasa event worth experiencing. For the squeamish, well, they will have to wait for amenities that will soon rise in nearby beaches," he said.
Well, those are things to look forward to. With or without rooms, though, you bet next year's event will be another smash hit.
