By CARRIE T. ASPA | Subic, Zambales

A colorful parade of entries and the scintillating performances of street-dancers from various barangays in Subic, as well as other towns in Zambales, aptly brought the week-long “Subic Ay!” Festival here to its satisfying conclusion on Sunday, May 6.

In this year’s celebration, the street-dancing tilt dazzled the crowd with an explosion of colors and high energy, and also managed to carry a strong seafaring theme, a tribute to the roots of Subic as a fishing village.

 

Festival queens pirouetted in costumes adorned with emblems of fish, clams and other sea life, while their male counterparts evoked sea gods with harpoons and trident spears.

Some street dancers also bore cardboard replica of boats, while others had their bodies painted in blue, with the wavy patterns of the sea.

Mayor Jay Khonghun said that Subic Ay! Fstival reflects the municipality’s adaptation to modernity and its strong grounding to traditional culture.

He said that the local government tried to bring in all possible aspects of community life to the celebration, so that all festival-goers could relate to the occasion and, thus, would participate in the activities.

“This year’s Subic Ay! is definitely bigger and better, and is reflective of what our hometown has become—bigger and better,” the 40-year old town executive added.

LOCAL TRADITIONS
This year’s edition of the festival also saw product exhibits from various barangays, several youth-oriented sing-and-dance competitions and parties, as well as the obligatory village beauty contests.

But it was also steeped in local traditions like the Karakol fluvial parade, where local fishermen adorned their boats for the sea run.

The local government also honored outstanding Subikenyos to hammer in Mayor Khonghun’s call for social service among both government employees and private individuals.

Residents said that the most-attended event, of course, was the musical variety show, which top-billed singers and actors like Sunshine Cruz, Gerald Anderson, Kim Domingo, Billy Crawford, Yeng Constantino and Kylie Padilla.

Aiko Melendez, who is said to be the love interest of Mayor Jay, was a special guest in the show.