The 26th Tinabu-ay Festival with the theme “Bugay kag Bugana sa Murcia” was launched Sunday, December 5.
The launch of the festival, which runs until December 8, saw the participation of all departments of the local government, local offices of national agencies, barangay officials and workers, schools, civic organizations, local clubs, businesses, farmers and producers, youth, LGBTQ and other sectors, a press release from Murcia said.
“We have suffered through two years of the pandemic, and we were also struck by Typhoon Odette and Typhoon Paeng, but we survived them all. The hardships of the past two years of the pandemic and the damage from the typhoons rekindled our relationship with God, and reminded of God’s importance in our lives,” Mayor Gerry Rojas said.
“We would not have survived without God’s love and grace. For this, we must thank Him for all the blessings and the guidance He bestowed on us, and we pray that He will grant us more blessings this coming Year 2023,” the mayor added, as he also thanked all sectors of Murcia society for coming out in support of the Tinabu-ay Festival.
The day’s activities started with a mass at the church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the town’s patroness whose feast is celebrated every December 8 as the highlight of Murcia’s fiesta.
With Mayor Rojas were Vice Mayor Johnny Reosura and all Sangguniang Bayan Members, who also joined the opening parade at the town’s major streets, the opening program, the opening of the Tindabu-ay Farmers and Producers Trade Fair and launching of the Farmers Day at the public plaza.
“Tindabu-ay is a play on the words ‘tinda’, which means ‘to sell or the market’ and ‘tinabu-ay’, which means ‘to meet or gather’. The Tindabu-ay Trade Fair is not merely an activity to honor farmers and producers, but it is also a venue to help our farmers sell their products. Without our farmers, all of us would not have any food to eat during the pandemic and up to now,” Murcia First Lady Berni Roja said.
Activities on Sunday included the Zumba Pazkwa, the switching on of the “Stars of Hope Christmas Tree and Lights” at the plaza and the LGU Night.
Capping the four-day festivities on December 8 (Thursday) is the high mass at the Immaculate Concepcion Parish Church and Mass Wedding in the morning, followed in the afternoon by the Tinabu-ay Festival Street Dance and Dance Arena Competition, Fellowship and Awarding Ceremony and the Fireworks Display in the evening to close this year’s Tinabu-ay festivities.*