Dahunog festival caps children’s month celebration in Dipolog

By Franklin P. Gumapon

DIPOLOG CITY, Oct. 11- - Innate talents and skills among children may vary but these should be nurtured and developed to bring out the best in them.

This city’s “Dahunog” festival, which runs for eight years now, is primarily designed to develop the children’s talents in music using wind instruments and drums.

For the past eight years, the city government through its city tourism office in collaboration with the city tourism council spearheaded the holding of the “Dahunog sa Dipolog” festival which falls on the first week of October each year. “Dahunog” is a Visayan term for rumbling or reverberating sounds.

Year after year the Dahunog festival has succeeded in drawing foreign and domestic tourists who would watch the interschool parade band competitions with elementary and high school students as participants.

Clad in colorful costumes, the band members would regale the spectators with their breathtaking performances in music and dances that go in harmony.

Tribute to children

Assistant City Information Officer Leonor Ruiz-Rabino told the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) that the Dahunog festival is one of the major entertainments for the children’s month celebration in the city.  

Aside from the parade band competitions, Rabino said, there’s also a search for Miss Teen Tourism to be participated in by high school students. Children below six years old will also vie for “Little King and Little Queen” titles.

“By and large, Dahunog festival is an avenue for children and youth to show off their talents not only in music but also in arts,” Rabino stressed.

Child-friendly city

The city government’s efforts in looking after the welfare of children have paid off as it emerged as the regional winner in the search for child-friendly city sponsored by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

A children’s center has been set up to provide shelter to abandoned and street children.

The city leadership also sees to it that children aged zero to five years old are given immunization against preventable diseases like polio, TB, hepatitis and others.

The city council, on the other hand, has also passed laws supportive of the welfare of children like the anti-smoking ordinance that prohibits smoking in public buildings, places and parks.

8^th Dahunog festival

Six high schools and seven elementary schools have participated in the recently concluded parade band competitions with the following winners in the secondary level: Zamboanga del Norte National High School band - champion, Saint Mary’s Academy – second place, and San Istanislao Kostka of Manukan town- third place.

For the elementary level, the winners were Dipolog City pilot Demonstration School – champion, Estaka Central School – second and Manukan East Central School – third.

Miss Teen Tourism 2012

The search for Miss Teen Tourism 2012 was joined by gorgeous teenagers from 11 public and private high schools. The winners were Quennie Joy Ebal of Saint Mary’s Academy - Miss Teen Tourism 2012, Alessa Turner of Global Springs of Learning Academy – Miss Eco-Tourism, Justine Rey de la Cruz of Zamboanga del Norte National high School – Miss Travel Adventure, and Fatima Flores of Dipolog Community School – 1^st Princess. (FPG/PIA-ZamboNorte)