Just like its tasty tuna that has tickled the world’s palate, Sarangani Bay will sizzle once more with the SarBay Festival, the country’s biggest beach party and sports and wellness event on June 3 to 5 in Gumasa Beach in Glan.
Now on its 10th edition, excitement fires off with the Swim Across the Bay Cross Channel Team Swim from Maasim to Glan, a 15-kilometer relay which is among Asia’s most extreme swim race. Gen. Santos City-based Dadiangas Torpedoes team will defend its back-to-back title against other challenger tankers from Mindanao.
This will be followed by the Sarbay Bancarera, which will display the skills of boatmen and fishermen in maneuvering their fishing boats as the indigenous jetski.
Art takes center stage in the Pinta sa Baybayon body painting contest, and an inter-municipality Sand Sculpture Competition.
The Bay Bodies 2016 will turn on the evening heat as babes and hunks strut down their wares, while the Talk and Text-sponsored Foam Party will wrap up the night featuring the sultry duo of Natalia Moon and Luane de Lima known as DJ Lunatics.
Day Two begins with the Sarbay Swim-Bike-Run for the Environment, a triathlon which will test the mettle of the local “Iron Men.”
Both days will have a beach volleyball and football, skim boarding, Ultimate Frisbee Competition, fire dancing exhibitions, and Zumba with the Legendz, Gen. Santos City’s home-grown league of dance instructors.
Curtains draw to a close with an evening party with Franco, Cathy Frey, Jennifer Lee, Ron Poe and Italo rocking the night away.
The third day will be devoted to clean up activities and environmental projects such as mangroves and tree planting. Five non-government organizations are joining the I Love Clean SarBay program this year to help maintain the ecological balance of the Bay’s coastal ecosystem.
Sarangani Provincial Tourism Council president Michelle Lopez-Solon said that this year’s edition which is themed #SarbayEvolution to celebrate the innovations it has embraced through the years, most notably its advocacy for environmental sustainability.
She said that this year’s edition aims to surpass last year which attracted some 126,000 guests, the biggest in its nine-year history.
A constant Best Tourism Event Awardee from the Association of Tourism Officers in the Philippines, SarBay Fest is organized by the Provincial Tourism Council and supported the Provincial Government, the Department of Tourism Region 12 and the Municipality of Glan.