By Leilanie Adriano
LAOAG CITY – The cultural ingenuity of the Ilocanos will again take center stage on Saturday, with the grandest and highly-anticipated cultural festival showdown in the province of Ilocos Norte.
Popularly known as “Tan-ok ni Ilocano (Greatness of the Ilocano): Festival of Festivals,” this year’s installation – its 12th – will take place at the Ferdinand E. Marcos Stadium in this city and is expected to attract thousands of attendees, including balikbayans, who want to experience genuine Ilocano culture.
Through vibrant performances, captivating storytelling, and community camaraderie, the festival serves as a testament to the enduring spirit of the Ilocano community, according to Aianree Raquel, provincial tourism officer of Ilocos Norte.
“We are very excited to stage Tan-ok this year, to make sure our audience will enjoy the presentations produced by our local creatives,” he said.
Raquel was referring to the 22 contingents who will come up with their own interpretation of the festival with presentations rooted on faith and religious beliefs, colonization and revolt, courtship and love stories, folklore and legends, and livelihoods and industries.
Gladys Menor, a Hawaii-based care home owner and a staunch advocate of Ilocano culture and tradition in Hawaii, said her group planned their vacation to the Philippines early this year in time for the staging of the festival.
“The festival is something we always look forward to because it connects and reminds us of who we are,” Menor told the Philippine News Agency in an interview.
As chairperson of the Philippine Consulate Coordinating Committee of Hawaii and vice president of the United Filipino Council of Hawaii, Menor said watching the grand cultural showdown as it actually unfolds gives her a sense of pride and joy as a true-blooded Ilocano.
Menor’s family had the chance to watch Tan-ok at the FEM stadium last year featuring unique stories that make Ilocos Norte what it is today.
In Hawaii, many Ilocanos have been contemplating on retiring in the Philippines as “there is no place like home,” Letty Acido, a balikbayan from Honolulu, said.
Launched in 2011 through the initiative of then-Ilocos Norte Governor and now Senator Imee Marcos to revive the cultural pride and identity of the Ilocanos, the festival also serves as an economic driver for homegrown artists and small-scale laborers.
According to event organizers, the grand prize will get PHP500,000 and another major award will be given to the most innovative contingent. (PNA)
