IRIGA CITY --- This year’s celebration of Tinagba Festival promises to be a grandiose event.

        Dubbed as “2010 TINAGBA GAYON BIKOL FESTIVAL of Festivals showdown” the well-budgeted affair will be highlighted by street dancing competition to be participated in by some selected festivals from different provinces in the Bicol.

        All set to join the contest, according to Glenda Bearis, City Tourism Office spokesperson are: Tabak Festival (Tabaco, Albay) Palong Festival (Capalonga, Camarines Norte) Lapay Bantigue: Festival (Masbate) Pinili Festival (Pili, Camarines Sur) Paraw Festival (Sorsogon) Pulang Angui Festival (Polangui, Albay) Sosogon Festival (Sorsogon City) Catandungan Festival (Catanduanes) and Ibalong Festival: (Legaspi City).

        Bearies said that part of the event will be a parade of well-decorated floats which will represent different core values being promoted by the city government under its “Character City Program”.

        These include: Cleanliness, Generosity. Patience, Decisiveness, Truthfulness, Respectfulness, Industriousness, Humility, Dependability, Resourcefulness, Thriftiness and Compassion.

        Expected to grace the affair is Department of Tourism Regional Director Nini Ravanilla and some celebrities and talents, of the two rival television Networks in the country, Bearies further said.

        Tinagba which derived from the word “TAGBA” is a harvest offering on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes held every 11th of February in this City. It is based on an old tradition where Bicolanos offer to God their first bountiful harvest as thanks giving, believing that by doing so, God will make their succeeding harvest more bountiful.

        Originally, participants of this festival were making well-decorated carts drawn by carabaos laden with all the products they had harvested in their farms, but such became a thing of the past as carts and carabaos were replaced by floats which drawn public criticisms.