In Calunasan: “the pattern which was weaving when the sun went down, is weaving when it comes up in the morning*”

It is about four o’clock on a fine Friday afternoon. Rippling gently with the soft breeze, is a huge rainbow-colored umbrella canopy that stands rather prominently in the middle of the fairgrounds semi-encircled by small nipa sheds cum exhibition kiosks, proudly displaying local hand-woven crafts of varying designs and sizes. Bags, placemats, baskets, trinkets and what-not’s made out of bamboo, buri and nito.

At one kiosk, three women are busy weaving pieces of nito and bamboo strips into what would become placemats and baskets. Rhythmic folk music played by a local kumparsa (string ensemble)wafts in the air, conflating with the buzz of excitement and anticipation from a good mix of crowd ranging from pre-schoolers dressed in Filipiniana to teeners to the leather-skinned community elders. Calunasan Norte is more than ready to receive its guests.

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Today is Pres. Carlos P. Garcia Day

The late Pres. Carlos P. Garcia, the 8th President of the Philippines, is without a doubt Bohol’s most illustrious son.

R.A. 7448, in April of 1992, declared the 4th of November each year to be a special non-working holiday in the whole of Boholandia to commemorate the anniversary of the late Pres. Carlos P. Garcia. But with close inspection to the law, it didn’t in fact name November 4 as Carlos P. Garcia Day, only that it a special non-working holiday. It did however ‘designate’ Nov. 2-6 as Carlos P. Garcia Week.

But of course by all intents and purpose, today is Carlos P. Garcia Day.

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