Cebu: Soli Soli Festival - Camotes

Published on 07:57am 08/21/2007 by cindy

Cebu:

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My name is cindy. I'm 53 years old, female and currently in Philippines.

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The town fiesta in San Francisco (Pacijan Island, Camotes) is named after San Jose and takes place on 18th and 19th March. On the evening of the 18th there’s a festival celebration in the local sports center. The festival king and queen are crowned and this is followed by a show featuring dancers and other entertainers. Most people sit in the sports center stand to watch the event, but for a price you can rent a table along with chairs. If you want anything to drink during the event, you’ll have to go out of the sports center to one of the little side stalls. Here you’ll be able to purchase beer, water and soft drinks.

The highlight of the fiesta is the Soli Soli Festival, which takes place on the afternoon of the 19th. The festival is named after a type of grass which can be found around Lake Danao. The festival features a freestyle street dancing competition, similar to the Sinulog Festival in Cebu City. The action takes place in the grounds of the San Francisco Elementary School. It's split into 2 sections, the local elementary schools and the 7 national high schools on the island all take part. Stock up on snacks and water before you go in to watch the dancing. There aren’t any stalls inside the school grounds and no stalls close at hand outside.

As you can see from the photos the costumes are quite spectacular and the children all
seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves! It’s a very entertaining spectacle.