THE Tinabu-ay Festival of Murcia bested 20 other participants to win the championship for the third time in the Best of Festival Dances competition at the opening day of the 24th Panaad sa Negros Festival held at Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City Saturday.
The group received a cash prize of P75,000 and considered part of the Hall of Fame after winning the title for three consecutive years.
In second place was Sagay City’s Sinigayan Festival; Ilog's Kisi-Kisi Festival, third; La Castellana’s Bailes de Luces, fourth; and Kabankalan City's Udyakan Festival, fifth.
Sagay City received a cash prize of P60,000; P45,000 for Ilog town; P30,000 for La Castellana and P20,000 for Kabankalan City.
Also part of the Top 10 were Hinoba-an's Pagbana-ag Festival, sixth; Himamaylan City's Himayaan Festival, seventh; Bago City's Babaylan Festival, eighth; Victorias City's Kadalag-an Festival, ninth; and Talisay City's Minuluan Festival, 10th.
The competition was adjudged by Shirley Halili-Cruz, Dessa Quesada-Palm, Marichu Tellano, Catherine Vestil and Rene Hinojales.
A fireworks display capped the opening day of this year's Panaad sa Negros Festival.