Ormoc is in a frenzy with Piña Festival
ORMOC CITY — Pomp and pageantry was the order of the day when this first-class city in Eastern Visayas held its Piña Festival with a bevy of beautiful belles vying for the title Piña Festival Queen.
Frenetic was the mood when a colorful and lively parade of eight of Ormoc’s most beautiful young ladies began at the ground floor of Robinsons Place. Each lady was accompanied by a group of merrymakers and street revelers in costume as they boarded the float that roamed around the city.
Earlier, there was heavy downpour in the area but Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez was certain it would stop to give way to the festival. Thirty minutes before the festivities kicked off, the skies cleared and the drumbeating started. When the Ormoc Piña Samba, the theme song of the festival, was blasted in the air, revelry and reverence took center stage as the Piña Festival celebrated a bountiful harvest of the city’s primary product — pineapple — and heralded Ormoc’s fiesta honoring Saints Peter and Paul.
“We are excited for this festival because for two years there was no Piña Festival due to the pandemic,” said Gomez, who was sworn in last Tuesday as the Representative for Leyte’s fourth legislative district. His wife, Rep. Lucy Torres Gomez, will now be the mayor of the city.
In the absence of the festival, Ormocanons were encouraged to make Piña Festival dolls during the pandemic years. A number of these intricately made dolls are now on exhibit at the ground floor of Robinsons Place.
The Piña Festival was the brainchild of Gomez when he started his term as mayor of the city in 2016. The festival pays homage to the farmers who need to wait for 14 months before they can harvest the city’s celebrated fruit. The Queen pineapple variety is smaller compared to other pineapple varieties. Its sweetness leaves a syrupy aftertaste.
According to Gomez, Ormoc, which is as big as Metro Manila, has 500 hectares of agricultural land devoted solely to pineapple farming. Scheduled planting is employed so the farmers are assured of a harvest every day for 365 days.
Aside from the pineapple festival, Ormoc also celebrates the Calachuchi festival in May (because the calachuchi is a symbol of the city) and the Ormocana butterfly festival in October. Ormocana is a species of butterfly endemic to Ormoc, found in the dreamy Lake Danao. (Oh, lunch on a raft in the middle of Lake Danao is divine. The sweet breeze of the hilly topography of Ormoc invites one to the idyllic living in this part of the province.)
The festival culminated at the Ormoc City Plaza where Princess Donah Ortega Paraiso from STI College of Ormoc was adjudged Piña Festival Queen 2022. Her court included Marisol Suganob from Liloan National High School (first runner-up) and Princessaila Desabille from Western Leyte College of Ormoc Inc. (second runner-up).
In the Derby category, which is the talent portion of the festival, Princessaila Desabille of Western Leyte College of Ormoc was adjudged the winner. Abiah Dicdican from Ipil National High School won first runner-up while Apryl Jhanlein Siaboc from Eastern Visayas State University was second runner-up.
The Best Float award and best in production costume award went to Ipil National High School. The Best Choreographer trophy was given to Western Leyte College of Ormoc Inc.
For special awards, the Miss Photogenic was bagged by Princess Donah Ortega Paraiso from STI College of Ormoc; Best Piña Festival Queen gown was won by Princessaila Desabille; Best Solo Performance went to Marisol Suganob.
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