18th Kaliguan Festival to Kick-off on June 24 in Surigao del Sur Town

"The 18th Kaliguan Festival will kick-off on June 24-28, 2014, which will be held in Cagwait," said Mayor Lilian Lozada during a press conference conducted on Wednesday.

This year's celebration is anchored on the theme, "One Vision, United Action Towards Sustainable Tourism Development."

Event coordinator Mike Santos is hopeful that the five-day celebration will be sustained and soon to be commercially competitive like other well-known festivals in the country.

"The sustainability of the event will definitely bring the name of Cagwait as well as the province of Surigao del Sur into the map of the tourists’ favorite destinations," said Santos during his event concept presentation.

To make the celebration unique, a Kaliguan Facebook Photoshoot Contest 2014 will be conducted. "The said competition is open to all professional and amateur photographers," said Santos. ​

During the kick-off ceremony on June 24, Mayor Lozada said the Kaliguan Agri-Industrial Fair, Kaliguan Food and Entertainment Booth, Kaliguan Bazaar, Kaliguan Trade Show and Exhibit, Kaliguan-LGU Best Practices Showcase and Serbisyo sa Kaliguan para sa Katawhan will also be launched.

Accordingly, the Fluvial Parade and the Perlas ng Kaliguan Pageant will also highlight the celebration. Celebrities from the GMA Kapuso Network will add colors to the celebration as they showcase their talents during the “Barangayan sa Kaliguan” night.

It can be recalled that the Kaliguan Festival was first celebrated on June 24, 1996 in honor of St John the Baptist initiated by Mayor Lillian Yu-Lozada, the then chairperson of the Municipal Tourism Council in partnership with the provincial government and Department of Tourism. (NGBT/PIA-Surigao del Sur)