Gerona, Tarlac – – No one left hungry.
Thus, said of this town’s fiesta which was celebrated with the 2nd “longest” boodle fight where around 10,000 people ate a sumptuous lunch laid in banana leaves.
Last year’s first boodle fight table was only 640 meters.
“This is our simple way to make our people feel the celebration of our town fiesta and we will be doing this every year”, Mayor Eloy Eclar.
According to Eclar, the boodle fight table measured 927 meters which was laid around the main thorough fares of the town
Eclar also revealed that 2,500 kilos of pork and chicken were cooked beside the 14 cavans of rice.
The first longest boodle fight in this town was personally sponsored by Eclar during last year’s fiesta as his “thanksgiving” for having been elected as mayor.
Local businessman Jimmy Ocampo described the mayor-initiated “street eating” as, “real service to the people”.
“Dati sa mga bahay lang ng mga mayor, mga politiko at mga mayayaman nakikipag-fiesta ang mga tao. Ngayon kahit sino, kahit taga-saan nakakatikim na ng pa-fiesta ng bayan. Tunay na fiesta ang ganitong salo-salo sa kalsada”, said Ocampo.
The population of this first class municipality is only 96,000, meaning more than 10% of the local populace was able to eat the food prepared by the municipal government.
Eclar also disclosed that almost all the barangay officials contributed in the preparation of the boodle fight.
“To complement the tables we rented, many barangay officials lent newly-built bamboo tables. Other barangay folks volunteered in the cooking. That’s why we also call this ‘bayanihan’ fiesta”, also said Eclar. /Nelson Bolos