Paraw Regatta 2010 launching today
The country’s best sports tourism event Iloilo Paraw Regatta Festival kicks off with a smooth-sailing start with its launching on Dec. 11 at 2pm at SM City Events Center.
Iloilo Paraw Regatta Foundation Inc. (IPRFI) chairman Manuel Villa, Jr. and City Mayor Jerry Treñas will lead the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) which organizes the hosting of 38th Iloilo Paraw Regatta Festival next year.
Highlighting the theme: “Sailing With Honor and Pride on a Strong Filipino Seafaring Tradition,” the 38th edition of the regatta will make splashes and waves in the Iloilo Strait on February 14-21, 2010.
Paraw Regatta is recently adjudged as the best sports tourism event by Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP).
Dubbed as “The Oldest Traditional Craft Event in Asia” and “The Largest Sailing Event in the Philippines,” the Paraw Regatta is a 36.5-kilometer race among native outriggers in the strait between the island province of Guimaras and Iloilo City. It was inspired by history which dates back in 1212 A.D.
Truly an Ilonggo event and Iloilo’s original festival, Paraw Regatta is the history, culture, tradition, arts, sportsmanship and the world renowned Ilonggo seamanship.
Called a “Paraw” in the local dialect, the native outrigger is a faithful reproduction in design and materials of the sailboats that carried to Panay Island the first Bornean settlers who were in search of a peaceful home.
First organized in 1973, the event was spearheaded by the DOT-6 together with Iloilo City, Municipality of Oton, Iloilo, and municipalities of Jordan and Buenavista in Guimaras.
In 2005, it was agreed that a private entity, the IPRFI shall manage the affairs of the festival for consistency.
Since then, the Paraw Regatta has grown in size and renown. The sailboats since then survived the centuries and became a vital part of the Ilonggo culture and tradition in the seafaring life.
The exciting event is participated by skilled fisher folks and sailing enthusiasts not only from Iloilo and Guimaras and nearby provinces in Panay Island but all over the country. (Iloilo City PIO)
