SANTA MARIA, Ilocos Sur – The Balicucha Festival showcasing rich religious and cultural practices and products, specifically the Balicucha or sugarcane candy, here unwraps on Easter Sunday.
SANTA Maria, Ilocos Sur municipal hall (Now Na Sta. Maria Ilocos Sur FB)
Mayor Brigido “Boy” Camarillo Jr. said the event pays tribute and appreciation to the sacrifices of farmers, residents, and fisherfolk and is historically significant as it coincides with Easter Sunday.
“We are again expecting thousands of local and foreign visitors to our town to watch our prepared attractive presentations and programs for our Balicucha Festival, the main highlight of our annual town fiesta, which runs from March 31 to April 4,” said Camarillo.
BALICUCHA or sugarcane candy (DOT FB)
An Easter Sunday Mass at the Our Lady of Assumption Church, a United Nations Educational, Scientific, Educational, and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site, kicks off the festival, followed by a grand parade of Balikutsa and other agri-fishery products-inspired floats, a marching band competition, inauguration of the farmers’ children overpass, and a “Gabi ng Parangal” or awards night.
Other highlights of the festival are the Balicucha cultural presentation, April 1; the folk dance and choir competition, April 2; "pinaka" (the best) and bancathon contest and the search for Miss Santa Maria 2024, April 3; and groundbreaking for the new police headquarters here and Ginoong Santa Maria, April 4.
This year’s festival theme is “One Santa Maria: The Road to Progress.”