IGOR Khovaev, ambassador of Russia to the Philippines, will be the guest of honor and speaker of the 1st Bacolod Chicken Inasal Festival Saturday, May 5.

The festival is one of the activities in the city’s 80th-anniversary celebration this year.

Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia said Friday it’s a big honor to have Khovaev witness the city’s first chicken inasal festival.

“It’s big for us because when we talk about ‘inasal,’ we are claiming to the world that we are the original ‘chicken inasal.’ I hope that we will have a very successful staging of the Inasal Festival,” he said.

He added that this will be a 300-meter long of grilled chicken.

For sure, it will catch the attention of the tourism world and will focus on the fact that “inasal” is synonymous with Bacolod City, the mayor said.

The grilling ceremony will start at 4:30 p.m. at the Araneta Street from Diamond Jubilee Tower towards San-Sebastian Street.

The City Government has provided tickets to the barangays to control the crowd and it is for free.

Councilor Cindy Rojas, chairperson of the Inasal Festival, had earlier said in previous years, it was called Manokan Country Inasal Festival, but this time this is called the 1st Bacolod Inasal Festival because this will be participated by various chicken inasal vendors and not by Manokan Country vendors only.

In 2009, the City Government attempted to break the world record in the longest barbeque grill at the north wing parking areas of SM City Bacolod.

Rojas said this year, they could not make to break the world record for lack of time to comply with the requirements which take for six months.

After the grilling ceremony, there will be a Chicken Inasal boodle fight in front of Old City Hall at 5 p.m.; Hip-hop Dance Showdown in Bacolod Public Plaza at 5 p.m.; and the opening of kiosks at Araneta Street, 7:30 p.m.; Zumanokan Dance exercise competition at Araneta Street at 8 p.m. followed by the street party at Araneta Street.

A total of 200 police personnel from the Bacolod City Police Office and 100 traffic enforcers from the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office were also tasked to secure the festival site. (MAP)