RIYADH, 7 September 2006 — Winners in the Kadayawan 2006 dance competition will be decided tonight at the Philippine Embassy, organizers of the event said yesterday.
Tonight’s affair is the culmination of a month-long cultural celebration, which started on Aug. 24 when the Dabawenyo Overseas Association or Dabaw conducted auditions for ballroom and R&B dancers. Six pairs for the ballroom dance competition and three for R&B will be seen in final showdown.
And that’s just for the entertainment side of Kadayawan 2006, which promotes not just investment and tourism in Davao but also arts and culture.
“Tonight will also be the realization of Dabaw’s pledge of 2 houses for the Gawad Kalinga ‘for the poorest of the poor’ project,” said Francisco “Jun” Sigaya, president of the group, whose members are from the southeastern Philippine region of Davao.
“The festival manifests our committed effort in nurturing our culture, understanding history and appreciating the arts as part of the city’s total development,” a Dabaw press statement said.
The theme of this year’s Kadayawan festival is “Nagkahiusang Katilingban Bisan Asa sa Kalibutan,” which means “One People Anywhere in the World.”
Rene Abad, who works in a supermarket in Al-Kharj, an hour-drive municipality outside Riyadh, is excited to watch the event and meet his fellow Dabawenyos tonight. “I have invited other fellow Dabawenyos in Al-Kharj to watch Kadayawan 2006 in Riyadh and hopefully, they will also register as members of the group,” he said.
“I would like to invite those who were born in Davao, have been a resident of Davao for a year, and even those who are just simply ‘Dabawenyo at heart’ to register as members” Sigaya said, adding that interested parties can contact Heny Montallana at 05029-21895, Bong Jordan at 05019-61056, or himself at 05672-31558.
The event is sponsored by WRJ Cargo and McDonald’s, plus the Social Security System, Merex Forwarders, Binzagr Pharmacy and Catering Channel, Hero Door-to-Door Network, Tehj Express, Filrem Cargo Services, and the Artists’ League for Culture and Arts.