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BANTON 2003 – MASTER PLAN |
Festivals
also attract visitors as what Ati-Atihan does in Aklan or the
Kadayawan in Davao. Sports competition bring, if not visitors,
Bantoanons home as what the Lenten Basketball Tournament has shown
us. Cultural shows and plays have their share of patrons. Needless
to say, we can add attractions by lining up events throughout the
year. The
brochure presented some of the major events, the Costume Ball,
Flores de Mayo, Fiesta, Biniray and Christmas celebration. We can
add more excitement to these events (if they do not attract
visitors, at least they would help hold Bantoanons from trooping to
the city during summer and the Christmas holidays). For
example, we can institutionalize the Hanrumanan during fiesta
celebrations. We can make the local biniray more colorful by
maximizing the participation of all local motorboat and banca
owners. We may re-introduce, improve (marathon) and institutionalize
Bugsayan (banca race) – we can even allow participation from other
municipalities of the province. We
can institutionalize a ‘turnohan’ by Barangay during the Flores
de Mayo. It should be fun for the teenagers – baylehan every other
day. College students may even be able to invite non-Bantoanon peers
or classmates in college. Christmas
celebration can be more colorful and can be added with some cultural
flavor. We can revive the daigon. We can light up the town and
barangays with locally-made lanterns. We can institutionalize a
lantern parade and contest. A concert of Christmas Carols can easily
be produced by the local educational institutions. The
Holy Week should also bring in people who want to take a retreat. If
kept holy and religious – no fanfare, no banquets, drinking
sprees, no partying – we can attract revelers. We can insert
some Passion plays and religious concerts. We can be a “retreat
island” during the Holy Week. Of course, we can cap it with a big
celebration of the Easter. Other
events can also be introduced. Actually, a resolution is now pending
with the Sangguniang Bayan to declare a Cultural Heritage Week to be
dedicated to the preservation of our rich cultural heritage. During the week, we can introduce local sports competitions
(lilawlilawan, bagoy, etc.) or simply skills competition (pagsurilap,
pagkurkor,
pagtapas et nidog, pagsug-ot). Concert of Bantoanon songs, local
plays and poem-writing contests are additional activities that could
spice up tourists’ visit. What
about seminars? Some concerned quarters are planning to bring the
Cornelio F. Faigao Writers’ Workshop to Romblon all the way from
Cebu. In 2003, and maybe thereafter, it could be in Banton. We can
actively seek to host conventions, meetings, etc. Maybe the
Provincial Board can be invited to meet once in a while in Banton.
So does the management committee of the DECS – Division of Romblon.
Proper
scheduling is of utmost importance. It should consider that this
project is geared towards a continuous flow of people throughout the
year rather than in just one particular period as what we do during
Balik-Banton celebrations. Overlapping of activities may cause
overlapping of people. Homecomings or reunions which are
supposed to be filled with fanfare should not be scheduled during
the Holy Week. If possible, Barangay homecoming should not overlap. School
and work breaks should also be considered. We can probably expect
that the dry season would attract more visitors especially the
months of April and May given that the sea is calm. April and May is
of course summer vacation for students. We can schedule during
this period activities which will be more interesting to tourists
like the cultural activities. During
semestral breaks, college students become our target market.
Therefore, activities should be those that capture the interest of
the students: sports, adventure and fanfare. The Banton
Municipal High School’s second semester Barn Dance could be made
bigger and more accommodating to non-members/visitors. We can
introduce an Earth Day Week – tree planting activities, cycling
races, marathon and alay-lakad around the island which can probably
be spearheaded by the Sangguniang Kabataan. For
marketing purposes, the activities for the whole year or a semester
should be lined up before the period starts. The organization,
barangay or private individuals sponsoring an event should notify
the municipal coordinator early if it wants to be included in the
tourism schedule of activities. OTHERS Souvenirs, for themselves or for pasalubong, complete a tourist’s visit. While attempt is being made by the Ugat-Faigao Museum & Library Novelty Store to offer souvenir items, locally-made items would be more appealing – goggles; wood carvings; miniature barotos, lansons and mayanguette and weaving paraphernalia; things made of stones e.g. stone weights; and probably local food preserves – bukado, pakumbo and the like. |
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