MATUGUINAO, Samar – After decades of being plagued by insurgency, the farthest municipality in the first district of Samar has celebrated a grand festival, featuring the town's products, tourist sites, culture, and talents. For over two weeks, the local government, in partnership with government and non-government organizations, staged activities for the Makarato Kahiaraan Festival 2023 leading to the town fiesta on May 15, Monday, in honor of Saint Isidore the Farmer. Mayor Aran Boller said that Makarato is a local variety of upland rice grown abundantly in their municipality. "Although Makarato has been celebrated in the past, this is the grandest celebration so far. We have institutionalized the festival to make it more exciting every year," he said. With its inclusion in their annual budget, he said they aim to offer scholarships as incentive to those who will join as main presenters of the festival as they intend to join other festival competitions. The festival signifies peace and growth in terms of tourism, which he aims to be at par with municipalities on the carline. Visitors were greeted by arches made of native materials by the 20 clustered barangays. Their local cuisines such as tango, iraid, hinaklub, and kurukod, among others, were also featured in their food expo at Maslog Cold Spring, one of the town's top tourist destinations.