Pangasinan sets Pista’y Dayat

MANILA, Philippines -- Pangasinan celebrates the bounty of the sea as it holds the annual Pista’y Dayat Festival, regarded as the province’s “mother of all festivals”, from April 23 to May 3.

Events include beachfront concerts, beach games, boxing bouts, cycling race, a youth camp, tourism and trade expo, and the Panagarte La! art exhibit which showcases local and visiting visual artists.

Organizers will also hold traditional Pinoy games, such as patintero, tumbang preso, luksong baka, sipa, dinoron, baldo (luksong lubid), paluan ng palayok, dinagi and kadang-kadang.

Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr. said that this year’s theme, “Luyag Ko, Dayew Ko,” (My Province, My Honor) will focus on environmental nurture, sports development, and revival of Pangasinense culture and art.

Some 100 colorful boats will take part in the Banca Parada fluvial parade on May 1 to showcase the improvements made on Agno River and its tributaries under Espino’s watch. Agno is the largest Philippine river in terms of water discharge draining around 6.6 cubic kilometers of fresh water into the Lingayen Gulf, or almost 70% of its total fresh water input.

Talented locals will compete in Takayan na Dayew today, April 28, a vocal solo competition.

ABS-CBN Happy Yipee Yehey hosts Randy Santiago, John Estrada, Toni Gonzaga and Mariel Rodriguez will motor around Dagupan City, Binmaley and Lingayen on April 29 before holding the game show on April 30 at the Lingayen beachfront.

Moreover, there will also be the Limgas na Pangasinan, the province’s biggest beauty and brains search on April 30 which will select Pangasinan’s ambassadors of goodwill.

May 1 is a fun-filled day with the Sayawan ed Aplaya (Street Dancing), the grand finals of Konsyerto sa Gulpo featuring rock bands Cueshe and Drivers as guest performers. Beach crowds will be entertained in a Kapuso Night with Rhian Ramos and other big of GMA TV Network stars.

The weeklong merry-making ends on May 3 with the Asin ed Asinan Cultural Show at the newly-restored Sison Auditorium, reputedly north Luzon’s best cultural center.

Most of the activities will be held at the Provincial Capitol beach front in Lingayen Gulf, one of the country’s richest bodies of water. It is also the site of the historic landing of Allied Forces led by Gen. Douglas McArthur to liberate the country for Japan. 

Source

PSU bats for green environment

PSU bats for green environment

by Venus H. Sarmiento

Lingayen, Pangasinan (28 July) -- The Pangasinan State University embarked on a tree planting activity yesterday and today, as part of its social concern to help protect the environment.

PSU President Victoriano Estira said the commemorative tree planting activity forms part of the 31st anniversary celebration of the school to develop awareness and participation among the students.

"We would like to show the way and lead the way in caring for the environment. We exemplify tree planting as an immediate concern and translate in the form of the participation and more involvement of faculty members and students," Estira said.

The initial tree planting activity was conducted in the nine campuses of PSU located in the towns of Asingan, Binmaley, Bayambang, Infanta, Lingayen and in the cities of San Carlos, Urdaneta and Alaminos. It was capped by the university celebration in the main campus in Lingayen where the planting activity was spearheaded by Estira together with the university's three vice presidents- Dr. Lydia Buduhan for Administration and Planning, Dr. Manolito Manuel for Academic Affairs and Dr. Honorio Cascolan for Research and Extension.

Thousands of forest tree seedlings like mahogany and gimelina were planted to provide shade and recreation area within the vicinity of the school campuses, not to mention their aesthetic value and contribution to filtration of carbon dioxide in the air.

Incidentally, the nature-loving Estira revealed that he just planted 500 seedlings last weekend in his farm located in Bugallon town as it is "always the people's responsibility to sustain and care about the trees and the environment not only for themselves but most importantly for the future generations to come."

A short program honoring the loyal PSU faculty members, retirees and board passers was held after the greening activity. Marcelo Casillan of the PSU Board of Regents, was the event's guest of honor and speaker (PIA-Pangasinan)

http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p100728.htm&no=23

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Pangasinan town puts up food strip for seafood

DAGUPAN CITY, April 23 (PNA) — Binmaley town will put up a unique seafood eatery strip along the road in Barangay Lomboy to serve exclusively seafood, like bangus, siganid (malaga), shrimps, prawns, crabs and others to tourists and visitors.

Binmaley Mayor Simplicio Rosario said each eatery would cook live seafood which the customers could buy from a common fish buying area nearby, to be cooked in their presence.

Speaking during the “Kapihan sa Lenox Hotel” here on Wednesday, Rosario said this was one way by which Binmaley could promote its rich harvest of aqua-marine products.

“I am looking for a lot where we can set up the area from where diners can buy their live fish to be cooked,” Rosario said.

The mayor lamented that though Binmaley produced more bangus than Dagupan, the latter beat his town in putting up the Bangus Festival and in proclaiming itself as the Bangus Capital of the World.

Nevertheless, Binmaley has its own "Malaga and Sugpo Festival" which is being held during the town fiesta first week of February each year.

Rosario said there were many eateries that were serving exclusively seafood along the Amado Espino Sr. Avenue in Barangay Lomboy that led towards the Agno River dike road, before exiting along the national highway leading to Bugallon town.

Binmaley is a first class town in Pangasinan just west of Dagupan City. The town is famous for its fishponds that produces the tasty bangus, malaga and shrimps, among others.

In setting up the seafood eatery strip, the municipal government would put up decorative lights along the road in front of the eateries as its part in promoting seafood to the Filipinos’ palate, Rosario said.

He said he had already talked to owners of existing eateries in that strip, including future entrepreneurs and exhorted them to clean their surroundings and establishments in preparation for the influx of diners. (PNA)