The 1st Sugar and Smiles Festival will be launched at the Northwing Activity Center of SM City Bacolod, September 15 to 17.
The theme for this year’s maiden edition is “Solidarity and Diversity in the Philippines’ Premier Agri Industry.”
Co-presented by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), Sugarsmiles Philippines Management Inc. (SPMI), and the SM Group, the 1st Sugar and Smiles Festival will bring together various stakeholders and market players to work for the overall success of the sugar industry, Festival Director Benjie Torre said Friday, August 18.
Participating in the festival are the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters, Confederation of Sugar Producers’ Associations, and United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines, he said.
SRA Administrator Pablo S. Azcona will deliver the keynote speech at the festival opening on September 15.
The three-day festival aims to promote the sugar industry’s growth and development through greater participation of the private and public sectors, Torre said.
It will also build up the industry’s food sectors that use sugarcane and its by-products through a cluster of booths at the venue in SM City Bacolod, he said.
There will also be a painting exhibit, singing competition, fashion show, and acoustic band performance during the festival.
MagSugarlandia, a new magazine which serves as the festival’s souvenir program, will be launched at the 1st Sugar & Smiles Festival.
It will feature “The Sugar Industry in Negros: A Bittersweet Story” authored by award-winning writer, lawyer Raymundo Torres Pandan Jr.
Highlighting the festival is the search for the first-ever Miss Young Sugarlandia who will be selected from among the 10 finalists on September 17 at SM’s Northwing Activity Center, Torre said.
SPMI is a Filipino company formed by Negrenses who published the first coffee table book about Negros Occidental.
Sugar & Smiles: The Negrense Legacy Beyond 2020 has won awards in Toronto, Canada and Bali, Indonesia bestowed by the Chicago-based International Association of Business Communicators and its Singapore-based regional arm, IABC Asia Pacific.
Those who have inquiries may contact Torre at 09178882550.*