GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- It’s all systems go for the city’s annual summer youth festival, which is touted as the “longest and biggest” youth gathering in Mindanao.
Elmer Cequina, head of the city’s youth affairs and development office, said Friday they have finalized the necessary preparations for the 46-day festivity, which will formally open on Monday, April 16.
He said the 2018 summer youth festival features various sports clinics and tournaments, performing arts competitions and workshops, and various youth convergence activities that will run until May 31.
“The lined up events and activities are all set, especially for the grand opening,” Cequina told reporters.
He said it will start at around 1 p.m. with a grand parade or “Parada ng Kabataan” from Robinsons Mall to the city gymnasium in Barangay Lagao.
A cheerdance competition and a concert by popular band Cueshe will spice up the festival’s opening ceremonies that will be graced by Mayor Ronnel Rivera, Vice Mayor Shirlyn Banas-Nograles and other city officials, he said.
Organizers are targeting to draw around 5,000 participants for the lined up events and activities, which are open to students and out-of-school youths aged 30 years-old and below.
The sports activities, which is dubbed “summerlympics,” will start on April 23 and end on May 31. It is supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
The clinics and tournaments will focus on “laro ng lahi,” football, boxing, table tennis, sepak takraw, futsal, volleyball, basketball, softball and chess.
A beach volleyball tournament that will be joined by at least 10 teams from parts of Mindanao is slated at the seaside Queen Tuna Park here.
Cequina said the performing arts component will be highlighted by a series of workshops and competitions.
He said these included the Voices and Beats Competition, I-Sing Competition, Choral Competition, Mindanao Beatbox Battle Championship, Hip Hop Dance Competition, Pop Vocal Training Workshop, GenSan Summerfest Band Explo, Metro Fab Summer Fashion Runway, Dancesports Workshop, Team Balloon Competition and Dancesports Competition, Mural Painting Contest and Barangay Got Talent.
As part of the pre-festival activities, he said they already started this week the filmmaking and basic editing, painting and photography workshop series.
The other activities are the painting contest and exhibit and photo contest, he said.
For the youth convergence, Cequina said they hold anew a summer youth camp, Kabataan job fair and a gathering of children in conflict with the law or CICLs in the city dubbed “Padayon: Batang May Pangarap.”(PNA)
