Ormoc City Celebrates First Ever Piña Festival

Ormoc City, the Philippines’ very own “City of Beautiful People,” recently held its first ever Piña Festival. Honoring the city’s patron saints San Pablo and San Pedro and its world-famous Queen Pineapple, the festival has become another great addition to the long list of reasons visitors flock to the city each year. (By the way, Cebu Pacific flies to Ormoc from Cebu four times each week.)

Ormoc’s Piña Festival is a true celebration of the things that are important to Ormocanons. And taking the center stage is the city’s unofficial icon — the queen table pineapple. According to Mayor Richard Gomez, although Ormoc is known for a lot of things — Lake Danao, Alto Peak, the Philippine-Japanese Peace Memorial, and many more — the pineapple is the city’s star product. And this is the exact reason why the Piña Festival was conceptualized. Mayor Gomez, who was hands-on every step of the way, made sure that every aspect of the festival was perfect. And with the help of various agencies, organizations, and individuals, the first staging of the festival ended up becoming a huge resounding success.

The sweet pineapples of Ormoc.

 

At the very center of all the festivities during the Piña Festival month is the Saints Peter and Paul Parish Church.

Beautiful interior of the parish church of Saints Peter and Paul.

One of the busiest areas in the city during the Piña Festival season is the Ormoc City Plaza. It is where the Quadro Night Food Bazaar is located.

Comprised of several activities, the Piña Festival’s highlights include a streetdancing competition, a ritual showdown, and a festival queen competition.

Last June 25, the streets of Ormoc came alive with the familiar (and addictive) Piña Festival jingle.

Through the city streets, 8 different contingents showcased their well-choreographed dance routines honoring the Queen Pineapple. Check out the scenes from the Piña Festival Streetdancing competition.

The dancers all made one last stop at the Ormoc City Plaza for their final street dance performance.

Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez, Vice Mayor Toto Locsin, Jr, and Congresswoman Lucy Torres Gomez watch the performances from the main stage at the Ormoc City Plaza.

Congresswoman Lucy Torres Gomez and Mayor Richard Gomez greet their constituents together with their daughter Juliana during the Piña Festival streetdancing competition.

Later that evening, the final showdown (ritual performance) was held at the super spacious Ormoc City Sports Oval. Check out the grand staging of the final showdown and the amazing performances of the participants:

 

 

 

 

 

 

They also had a Festival Queen Competition which pits all contingent lead dancers against each other.

 

Here is the complete list of this year’s winners:

*Piña Festival Queen – Cherry Mae Duterte from STI – P35,000
*Best in Costume – Ipil NHS – P50,000
*Best in Choreography – STI – P40,000

*Street Dancing :
3rd – WLC – P20,000
2nd – Ipil NHS – P40,000
1st – STI – P60,000

*Ritual/Showdown:
3rd – EVSU – P300,000
2nd – WLC – P400,000
1st – STI – Piña Festival 2017 Champion – P500,000

Consolation prizes of P200,000

Overall, the first staging of Ormoc City’s soon-to-be iconic Piña Festival was a huge success. Congratulations to the LGU of Ormoc for a job well done. We’ll definitely look forward to next year’s Piña Festival!