FRUITS FOR FREE. Mayor Paolo Evangelista (3rd left) poses with some employees at the long table of free-to-eat fruits displayed along the national highway in Kidapawan City for the Timpupo Festival on Friday, Aug. 18, 2023. A supplemental photo shows one of the 19 fruit-laden floats that joined the competition in line with the celebration. (Photos courtesy of Kidapawan CIO)
KIDAPAWAN CITY, North Cotabato – Thousands of residents feasted on 12 tons of free-to-eat fruits lined along the national highway here for the Timpupo Festival that marked the culmination of the city’s 76th foundation anniversary Friday.
The “eat-all-you-can” fruit festival, together with a fruit-laden float parade, served as the highlight of the weeklong celebration of the city’s anniversary annually.
An estimated 11,000 kilos of different varieties of fruits were displayed on the 800-meter-long table mounted along the Davao-Cotabato National Highway during the day.
"All the fruits came from local farmers, which signifies our rich natural abundance," Mayor Jose Paolo Evangelista said in an interview.
The official also led the symbolic civic military and fruit float parade participated by various government and private entities.
Sen. Bato Dela Rosa graced the occasion a guest speaker, lauding local farmers for continuing the improvement and expansion of local fruit varieties.
Fruit float parade
In the float competition, the city's Districts 2 and 8 were declared champions, followed by the Saniel Cruz Annex High School and Barangay Linangkob as the third placer.
The winners received PHP100,000, PHP75,000, and PHP50,000, from the city government, respectively.
Other activities held during the weeklong celebration were the pyro-musical display, mountain bike challenge, traditional food preparation, gigs, sports events and display of affordable fruits.
The city is known for being a major producer of fruits such as durian, rambutan, lanzones, mangosteen and marang in the province. (PNA)
