BONTOC, Mountain Province – Preparations for the 50th or Golden Anniversary of the foundation of the province and the Lang-ay Festival 2017 will be formally launched in November 2016.
The two important events are now the focus of preparations of concerned personnel of the provincial government and the private sector. Next year would be the 50th Foundation Day anniversary of the province and 13th Lang-ay Festival.
The launching comes with a civic parade around the town and a program at the provincial plaza. The activity is part of the culminating celebration of the Indigenous Peoples Month.
Atty. Amador Batay-an, the Provincial Administrator, had said that next year would be the “Golden anniversary” of the province and that celebrations would be elaborate.
“We have to launch the two events this early to give ample preparations for the golden anniversary of the foundation of the province,” he said.
Provincial Governor Bonifacio Lacwasan, Jr. invited the Lang-ay Festival Organization to spearhead the preparations for the Lang-ay Festival 2017 in tandem with the provincial government to sustain the partnership.
Now, however, the partnership includes the commemoration of the golden anniversary as the provincial administrator called for concerted efforts of the government and private sectors in preparing for the twin events.
The final theme for the two simultaneous events is “Mountain Province at 50: Reminiscing and fostering our cultural integrity” after it went through diligent discussions by the committee members.
The theme would encompass the opportunity for reflection of the people over the past fifty years as the province strides toward the future nurturing the unique cultural heritage of the people.
Atty. Roland Calde, the Regional Director of the National Commission for the Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Cordillera Administrative Region, would be the guest speaker in recognition of the culminating activity of the IP Month.
It was a repeat of the 2014 event as the Lang-ay Festival was also launched in the similar occasion of IP Month celebrations.
Congressman Maximo Dalog was invited to do the “sikmat” of the tapey during the indigenous ritual of the “tukab.”
The start of the Lang-ay Festival 2017 was planned to be March 31, 2017, but it had to be moved to a later date as the planned date would coincide with the first death anniversary of the late governor.
The Lang-ay Festival 2017 will be from April 3-10, 2017 and the Foundation Day celebration would be on April 7, 2017.
The Lang-ay Festival Organization has managed the staging of the provincial festival in the past two years. Both were also launched in the months of October, first in 2014, then in 2015. The festival this year was canceled due to the sudden death of the late Governor Leonard Mayaen.
By Roger Sacyaten
