The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, approved on first reading a proposed ordinance declaring every last week of October for the conduct of a busking festival in the city.
Under the ordinance authored by Councilor Leandro B. Yangot, Jr., the measure intends to enhance the reactivity of the residents and provide the appropriate avenue for all creative buskers in the city as well as to cater to other buskers coming from the different regions of the country.
The ordinance mandated the creation of a busking festival committee which will be composed of the City Mayor as the chairperson, the City Administrator as co-chairperson with the City Tourism officer as action officer. The members of the said committee are the City Treasurer, and Chairperson of the Committee on Tourism, Special
Events, Parks and Playgrounds.
Further, the local government is required to allocate funds from its annual budget to defray the expenses for the conduct of the various activities during the said celebration.
The ordinance explained that festivals have a strong connection to the community as it provides an opportunity to engage people in socialization, entertainment, establishment of social networks, which can cause the enhancement of community cooperation and the building of social capital within a city.
Moreover, it added that festivals can serve as tourist attractions and can provide tourism benefits such as increased visitation and promotion of culture, character and image of the people living in a community.
In the city, the ordinance recognized that the number of street performers is tremendously increasing and serves as an added attraction to the public both local and foreign visitors.
According to the measure, the public, especially children are excited when they come across an unexpected act and as musicians put in, music adds charm to any place, thus, there is a need to institutionalize the conduct of a busking festival which would cater to all local buskers in showcasing their talents and likewise accommodating other creative buskers from other cities and regions in the country.
