Behind the merry mix of various cultural, artistic activities, however, the message as reflected in the theme, "Protecting Children: A shared responsibility", was clearly emphasized, even as it was underscored that the varied shows cum competition were yet another way of advocating current issues concerning children being coursed through the arts.
"Cases on child abuse are increasing, like rape, domestic violence - there have been so many reported cases. So there will be an informed public, informed communities about these issues that can be enlightened in a very artistic way," Bontuyan said in explaining how the festival came to be conceptualized and later realized.
Indeed, the arts festival had hit many birds with only one stone by way of a marathon presentation. The first day, Monday, June 26, was held at the Capitol Sunken Garden in Maasin City with an opening program in the morning followed by a drawing and painting contest with children participants in different age categories.
In the evening of June 26 there was a songwriting competition wherein originally-composed songs of twelve finalists out of 26 entries dwelled on the many aspects and concerns affecting the life of a child, and all the twelve final entries were interpreted by children, ages ranging from elementary to high school.
Popular singer Christian Bautista was the guest judge and performer during the songwriting contest, adding more glitter and a "must-see" come-on to the show, which was won by a song entry, "Akong Istorya" (My Story) composed by a teacher, Cipriano Mikin of Ichon, Macrohon, and interpreted by John Ray Maitem.
On the second day, June 27, the arts festival took on a higher pitch at the Southern Leyte State University (SLSU) covered court at Sogod, with a day-long showcase of cultural talents involving not only children but adults as well.
Selected participants from the province's 18 towns and one city competed their best in "Diskurso" (discourse), "Balak" (poetry), children's choir, acoustic guitar solo, "balitao" (a courtship duet), "Tigmo" (riddle), "Harana" (serenade), folk dance, "sayawit" (a combination of "sayaw" or dance, and "awit" or sing), and dance theater in the evening hosted by another popular showbiz personality, Heart Evangelista.
Bontuyan said this was the first-ever comprehensive child advocacy through the arts undertaken by Plan featuring home-grown local talents, since the one in Eastern Samar last year only the songwriting competition was organized.
Admittedly, the two-day activity was highly successful but was it effective in driving home, in reaching out the point they wanted to convey, to get across? "We reach our objective. We will assess after the activity. If we will find that the effect was good we might continue and improve it further. Then if not, we will look for other ways to raise public consciousness on child protection issues," Bontuyan said as he cited the extensive cooperation of the local government units and other concerned stakeholders.
For the duration of the activity, from the preliminaries to the backdoor preparations and other essential logistical needs, Plan International chipped in a cool P 1.3 Million, while the provincial government through the provincial tourism office extended technical support and close coordination with the LGUs involved.
But were the physical presence of two celebrities like Christian and Heart important to draw crowd and promote Plan's advocacy? "It depends on the situation, but they add flavor to our festival. In reality we have a culture that is taken for granted by some people. But if we go back to our culture and merge it with the new generation, then we can set down and take a look at it all," Bontuyan explained.
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