DAVAO Christian High School's recent "Piyestang Pampamilya" ingeniously brought the best of the Philippines' barrio fiesta experience to the DCHS V. Mapa Campus.
The annual themed Family Day celebration is considered one of the thrilling highlights of the school year orchestrated by the very dynamic DCHS Parents-Teachers Fellowship (PTF) in cooperation with the Student Council (SC).
As excited families entered the campus, they were welcomed by a delightful carabao (the affair's VVIP or Very Very Important Pet!) donning its adorable salakot and lei. The distinct aroma of freshly roasted lechon with its golden skin made perfectly crisp on-site by the Pollo Porco team and grilled chicken barbeque wafted through the air.
A queue swiftly formed at a stall serving puto bumbong, a well-loved Filipino purple rice cake steamed in bamboo tubes. For some, they only get to savor this delectable treat during Simbang Gabi. Right beside the stall, other native delicacies such as puto, kutsinta, and minasa were peddled. During that balmy afternoon, guests beat the heat with refreshing buko, gulaman, and pandan "palamig," and cooled down some more with Pinoy sorbetes and taho.
While parents were busy milling around the fair buying organic fruits and vegetables and other local products, the young ones did not seem to mind as they were happily preoccupied at the "Pon de Perya" and "Little Barangay" inflatable play area.
At the auditorium, multi-colored banderitas and life-sized styro standees which included the jeepney, sorbetes cart, bahay kubo, lechon, and various national costumes proudly showcased our rich Filipino culture.
The festivities took a brief pause as the newly elected DCHS Parents-Teachers Fellowship and Student Council officers had their oathtaking and induction ceremonies. Heading the PTF for this school year is Ma. Rossana "Bobsey" Lim-Gan while Sophia Rafaelah Egano and Anicka Beatriz Teves will serve as the Junior SC and Student Council presidents, respectively.
The award-winning Buhangin Central Elementary School Drum and Lyre Corps accompanied by graceful majorettes wowed the crowd with their boundless energy. In addition, traditional Filipino dances and OPM song numbers by talented DCHS teachers and students drew claps and cheers from the appreciative audience.
Classic Filipino games such as "Maria Went to Town," "Pabitin," "Hilahang Lubid," and the much-anticipated "Dakpin ang Baktin" delighted both parents and students. Emerging as the grand champions for the Catch the Piglet contest were Merrycris Malindog and Martha Atienza while Paul and Jewel Ledesma were declared as second place winners. Meanwhile, Grade 6 student Mikaela Corrine Lo bagged the third place.
With creativity, teamwork, resourcefulness, and a lot of help from generous sponsors, the DCHS PTF and SC imaginatively created an entertaining barrio fiesta extravaganza in the heart of the city for families to experience a truly Filipino spectacle!
E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. To view more photos, please visit http://momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com/.