PIA Press Release
Monday, January 02, 2012 Zambales ushers New Year with “Kaligawan ha Mayanan” CANDELARIA, Zambales, Jan2 (PIA) –- The three-day “Kaligawan ha Mayanan” festival kicked off December 29 at the scenic Uacon Lake. A 116-kilometer (km) cycling event took off that day with more than 100 bikers and cycling enthusiasts pedaling through the picturesque Zambales countryside from Subic to this town. Also, the first ever “Alay Langoy” swim event was launched that day with Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. leading the participants. “Kaligawan” is an annual festivity organized by Gov. Ebdane to promote tourism in the northernmost municipalities of Zambales where visitors are encouraged to participate, compete, or just watch and enjoy different events. Literally translated to “festivities in the North,” Kaligawan was created last year to attract visitors here and in the nearby towns of Sta. Cruz, Masinloc, and Palauig and make them appreciate the eco-tourism sites, local culture, and products that these towns offer. “The towns from Palauig to Sta. Cruz need a little more boost in terms of tourism promotion compared to the municipalities down south, which already reap revenues from tourists who flock to local beaches during summer,” Ebdane said. “With this festival, we’d like to tell visitors to Zambales that there are also attractions up north where they could experience and enjoy simple outdoor fun for the family or extreme adventure for the sports aficionados,” he added. Aside from the Kaligawan festival, Ebdane has also organized the Sta. Cruz-Mangatarem Off-Road Challenge last August and the First Zambales Dragon Boat Festival last month to help push tourism in this part of the province. The first day of the festival also featured a kayak clinic and a kayak fun race supervised by the Canoe and Kayak Association of the Philippines at Uacon Lake. In the evening, the final bouts for the Zamba Boxing Competition were held at the Candelaria town plaza. On the second day, organizers scheduled several fun events at the Uacon Cove, which is the staging area for trips to white-sands island of Potipot. These include the “Pulayo 2011” fun run, sibit-sibit banca race, five-km kayak race, beach volleyball, and “Extreme Challenge” fun games. In the afternoon, the provincial government, along with some volunteer groups, held a medical mission at barangay Sinabacan here. Friday’s events ended with a variety show at the governor’s headquarters also in Sinabacan. A beach party was organized at the Uacon Cove on the third day, with various tourism establishments in the area putting out shows and entertainment along the beach area. Kaligawan was capped with the annual New Year’s Eve countdown followed by a fireworks display also at the Uacon Cove.(WLB/AMV-PIA 3) | 
