It's More Fun in Vigan!

        The celebration for this year's Vigan City Fiesta (Conversion of St. Paul) and Longganisa Festival begun on January 18, 2023 and ended on January 28, 2023. The conducted activities were Zumba Night, Eagle Vision @30, Agriculture Day, Education Night, Cityhood Day, Social Services Night, Metro Vigan Dancesports Club and Balik Vigan Night, Vigan City Fiesta and ABC Night, SK/ Bigueño Night, NGO and Partner's Night, and lastly, LGBTQIA+ Day.

        The Longganisa Street Dancing Competition was conducted on January 22, 2023 at 3:00 PM. There were many contestants and all of them were good. The dancers' smiles and their lively dance steps accompanied with a lively music really made me amazed. 

        All of the groups performed great, but there were two who stood out and are awarded as best among all of the contestants. These are San Nicolas National High School (the champion for Category A) and University of Northern Philippines (UNP) (the champion for Category B). 

        Longganisa Cookfest was also held earlier on the same day as the Longganisa Street Competition. The dishes prepared by the contestants were all amazingly. Most of the dishes were made up of ingredients that you wouldn't think are a good combination. Many dishes were strange (such as a dessert with a longganisa in it) yet interesting. 

        A mass was held to celebrate the City's Fiesta. It is called "Misa Concelebrada" which was conducted on January 25, 2023.  

        Later on the same day is when the search for Miss Vigan was conducted. All of the contestants were amazing and very beautiful. They were full of confidence and were very brave to join the most prestigious beauty contest in Vigan. All of them performed well, but one stood out from the many, it is Miss Anis Fatima Azees. 

        There were also celebrities who attended in the said contest. 

        After years of not being able to fully celebrate the Fiesta, it feels wonderful that we are able to do it again this year. People really missed celebrating it that's why hundreds (if not thousands) of people attended and watched the events for  this year's celebration of Vigan City Fiesta. The smiles,  the laughter,  and the eyes of people that express their pure happiness made my heart warm. Even if I was not able to attend any of the events personally, I was able to watch some events through Facebook live. The great performances of the dancers in the street dancing competition gave me goosebumps and the creativity and perseverance of the Bigueños made me feel proud to be an Ilocano. With these, I can say that it is more fun in Vigan! 

References:

• Vigan City PH. (2023). Longganisa Street    Dancing: Vigan City Fiesta 2023. Facebook.  https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02L3KFbwQafaP421myyPhW7MU5cbRQDaua2Y1uEYdMW4FfwKbr4nkPVGhRfSNtfV6wl&id=100064872990663&mibextid=Nif5oz  
• Vigan City PH. (2023). LONGGANISA COOKFEST: Vigan City Fiesta 2023. Facebook. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0GSqMJGWyqstWeFFAGBaSqyFX1x1bPDRWwf7Kv3pgepgJLifxTuD7UW3oh9BAu6Sgl&id=100064872990663&mibextid=Nif5oz  
• Vigan City PH. (2023). MS. VIGAN CORONATION & BIGUEÑO AWARDS NIGHT: VIGAN CITY FIESTA 2023. Facebook. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0MFRrqGr47Rr8NVF2XSrNjoAMf1d2BpHTvUE64WReG98pCCNRtbraEYYy7LvZWtNYl&id=100064872990663&mibextid=Nif5oz 
• Vigan City PH. (2023). Misa Concelebrada Conversion of St. Paul [Vigan City Fiesta 2023]. Facebook. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02KS9eLgP9jXaDMwhht6UXrhmTibRFWcpk5rHLmGF1kJ6eMhNUbrRvPJmSxqJvtDPPl&id=100064872990663&mibextid=Nif5oz 
• Vigan City PH. (2023e). Vigan City Fiesta Calendar of Activities. Facebook. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0aorLQgh9JWp1v9uhiU69mH3H8oKFAiNyGGkX7fzFsTNjdwny9geyWc8KdADarFhkl&id=100064872990663&mibextid=Nif5oz