The country’s top rock bands and deejays sizzled as they transformed the quiet beach of Gumasa into the biggest and hippest beach party at the 12th Sarangani Bay (SarBay) Festival in Glan, Sarangani.
Sought-after band Rocksteddy and DJs Kouta Kutsuma and Cupcakes fired the opening salvo in the beach party’s San Miguel Night.
The fun continued with the Bay Bodies ’19 pageant, DJ Battle, and the Talk N Text party featuring 6Cyclemind, DJ Marc Marasigan, and DJ Kat.
The festivity drew to a close with the Globe party series featuring Ben & Ben, and deejays Tom Taus and Carlo Atendido.
Sarangani Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon said that this year’s edition highlighted the innovations the beach event has undergone, most notably its advocacy for sustainable tourism and family-oriented recreation.
“SarBay is the biggest, cleanest, and brightest beach festival. Year after year we have done so much to work on getting our environmental advocacy into real, tangible efforts of creating a culture of responsible tourism,” he said.
Spicing up the three-day fest are Zumba sessions with the Legendz, drum-beating competition, fire-dancing exhibitions, body painting and family sand sculpture contests.
Other fringe activities were the 15-km Swim Across the Bay relay, Asia’s most extreme swimming event, and sporting events such as SarBay Strongman, beach volleyball and football, skimboarding, frisbee, jet ski race, bancathon, mountain bike, skimboarding, and frisbee tournaments.
The event drew some 150,000 visitors and highlighted the environmental awareness among party-goers, with post activities such as beach cleanups, mangrove tree-planting, and scuba cleanups.
Themed “Neon Summer”, the beach party is organized by the Sarangani Provincial Tourism Council with the support of the Province of Sarangani, DOT Region 12, and the Municipality of Glan. It showcased the tourism gems of the Soccsksargen Region, where Sarangani was the top tourist destination for 2018.
Solon concluded with the top-rate music, diverse activities, pristine beach, and its advocacy for the environment, SarBay Fest is definitely a beach party to remember.