GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Aug. 31 — Thousands of local and foreign tourists are expected to crowd anew the city’s main streets on Tuesday for the formal opening of its 47th charter anniversary celebration and 17th Tuna Festival.
The festivities will officially start on Tuesday afternoon with a colorful tuna float parade around the city and a fiesta-themed opening ceremony in the evening that will be capped by a grand fireworks display.
“Everything is now all set and rest assured that our local and foreign visitors will get the best experience with the lined up activities. This year’s celebration will surely be one that they will never forget,” City Mayor Ronnel Rivera said on Monday.
The festival, which is co-organized by the city government and the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority-General Santos Fish Port Complex, had a soft opening last Aug. 15 but the highlights were set from Sept. 1 to 6.
Malacanang has declared Sept. 1 as a special non-working day in the entire city through Proclamation No. 1117.
Among the major activities lined in the week-long celebration are the grand fish fest at the city fish port complex, GenSan tuna fashion festival, skills Olympics, boxing tournament, dog show, 3rd Mayor Ronnel C. Rivera Cup shoot fest, bancarera or boat race, airsoft tournament, tuna fest triathlon and the 1st Visayas-Mindanao battle of the bands.
On Thursday, Sept. 3, the city will host anew the two-day annual National Tuna Congress, which is expected to gather around 500 domestic and foreign tuna industry players.
City officials will lead a traditional flag-raising ceremony and a “Breakfast with the Generals” at the city hall on Saturday, Sept. 5, the city’s 47th charter day.
The festivities will be capped with a street dancing competition, awarding rites of the city government’s Project Modelo and a closing ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 6.
The mayor said the annual celebration mainly centers on the area’s development these past decades from a coastal settlement to a now booming highly-urbanized city.
He said the city is also paying homage to its thriving tuna industry, which is the backbone of the area’s economy.
The city, which is dubbed the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines,” hosts six of the country’s seven canneries tuna canneries as well as related industries that generate annual experts receipts of around USD300 million.
Rivera said this year’s celebration is very special for the city after its official declaration by the Guinness World Records as the record holder for the “world’s largest fish display.”
He said the city government received earlier his month the certificate for such feat, which was achieved on Sept. 11, 2014.
The world record bid was the highlight of the city’s 46th charter anniversary celebration and 16th Tuna Festival last year.
The Guinness certificate read: “The largest fish display consists of 25,594.49 kg (56,426 lb 3 oz) of yellow-fin tuna and was achieved by the City of General Santos, South Cotabato, Philippines.”
“Consistent to Gensan’s reputation being the home of the champions and branded as the Tuna Capital of the Philippines, this new record-breaking title is very special to all our constituents. We are very proud what we achieved,” Rivera added.(PNA)
FFC/AVE/JNA