LIM BRINGS “KALUTAN” BACK TO PEOPLE

DAGUPAN CITY – Mayor Benjamin S. Lim is bringing back the ‘Kalutan ed Dagupan’ back to its original venue along A. B. Fernandez Avenue.
For the last two years since 2009, ‘Kalutan ed Dagupan,’ which was renamed as ‘Bangusan Street Party’ by the past administration has been held at the De Venecia Expressway in Lucao adjacent to the mall owned by the family of Vice-mayor Belen Fernandez...

‘Kalutan ed Dagupan’ is the main highlight of the annual Bangus Festival since 2002 and has earned immortality in the pages of the Guinness World Record (GWR) in 2004 when the city government received the certificate proclaiming that the people of Dagupan were the new record holder for the longest barbecue.
The barbecue spectacle measured 1,007.56 meters, breaking Peru’s record of 613 meters for quite a time until Turkey grabbed the title by staging a 1.6-kilometer stretch of barbecue in 2004.
In a show of unity, Dagupeños attempted to regain the title in 2005 by staging a 2.2 kilometers to upstage the feat made by Turkey. The bid, however, has not been verified by the GWR office in London.
Bangus Festival formally starts on April 8 with Alexander G. Siapno and Executive Assistant III Maximo Alexis M. Tan as chairpersons.
Tan said that for this year’s Bangus Festival, the major events include the Bangus ed Karosa on the opening day, Gilon-Gilon street dancing, 101 ways to cook bangus, bangus rodeo, and ‘Kalutan ed Dalan.’
Other events are photo contest, auto electronic show, shoot fest, badminton, bangus art exhibit, Dagupan’s best, friendship GAYmes, fishing contest dubbed as ‘Mabilay Lay Ilog Ko’, Dagupan graffiti art walk, body building sculpture painting contest, Halo-halo fest, Pigar-pigar fest, bikini open, band competition, golf tournament, bangus fest run and marathon, bangus fest idol, Yugyugan ed Bangus fest 2011 dance contest, Kickboxing, easter egg hunt, Cafe ed Plaza, and Langoy Bangus 2011.
In his State of the City Address, Lim made it clear that the Bangus Festival is the only official and sanctioned festival of Dagupan.
He publicly announced that one of his ideas that will showcase the city’s inland waterways similar to that of Tagbilaran City is the launching of the river cruise during the festival and the unveiling of the new city seal.
“The Bangus Festival is our biggest tourism event each year, but the celebration of the festival itself only lasts for approximately one month. The challenge therefore is how to attract more tourists when there are no scheduled big events in the city such as the Bangus fest and the City Fiesta. The idea of the river cruise actually tackles not just the tourism issue, but also addresses the issue of livelihood, as the city will provide livelihood opportunities for boat builders, bangkeros, cooks, and many others,” he explained.
Mangroove planting will also be another activity included during the Bangus Festival. (CIO – Joseph C. Bacani)