There is no biggest, it will only get bigger

By JED RESTON of Brigada Mass Media Corporation

for SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE

GUMASA, Sarangani (May 30, 2014) - When it comes to the Sarangani Bay Festival, the word “biggest” is relative and temporary.

It will only serve as the benchmark for what is to be beaten for next year’s festival.

You see, the Sarangani Bay Festival or SarBay Fest is like a young lady.

From its humble beginnings in 2006 as a brainchild of then Sarangani Governor Miguel Rene Dominguez it has evolved to take a life of its own and has slowly shown that it can grow into something beautiful, awesome and amazing.

The yearly Bombo Radyo Bancarera now hosts around 40 racers from the original count which ranged from 20-30. Boat crews now come from different places in Mindanao. They boast of faster boats and more daring boat crews, with each year pushing the envelopes of man, machine and the sea at its utmost edge.

The same can be said for the Jetski Racing competition which originally started as an exhibition sideshow in SarBay, but is now a full-fledged invitational challenge and is going on its third year.

While, man and machine try to beat the elements, the Smart Communications-sponsored Swim, Bike, Run for the Environment pits man against the natural challenges presented by the location.

From the yearly fun-run and marathons that usually accompany SarBay Fest, it has now become a triathlon comparable to that of the famed Iron Man Challenge in Subic.

Current Sarangani Gov. Steve Chiongbian Solon’s idea of turning Sarangani into a “tourism adventure” destination is one step closer to becoming a reality, with the success of the first Swim, Bike, Run for the Environment.

This is not to say that the legendary “Swim Across the Bay” is already removed from the yearly itinerary. No, in fact the 15-kilometer race which traditionally starts from Kamanga, Maasim ending in Tango, Glan has become quite a crowd drawer with iron-lunged contestants now coming from different far-flung corners of the island.

Even the parties have grown exponentially more, with nightly foam parties slowly earning their place in party-lore and guest bands/DJ’s getting better and better each year.

Sexy ladies, men and every gender in between gyrate to the pulsing party music as the more than 15-minute fireworks “Splash in the Sky” attempts to turn night into day with an awesome display of color and pyrotechnics.

Tourists and hardcore partygoers from places like Gensan, Davao, Manila and the nightlife capital of the country - Cebu - are awed at the unique brand of fun that only a proper SarBay foam party experience can bring.

Surely, everything about the SarBay Fest Experience has grown from clean, weekend fun to rockin’ and rolling awesome.

Many marveled when the paltry attendance of the first Sarangani Bay Fest in 2006 skyrocketed to more than 35,000 in 2012. Everybody thought it would peak at 50,000 but in 2013, it reached 70,000.

This year’s amazing estimate put it at an astounding 120,000 revelers all-in-all for the two day beach party.

Logistical nightmare

With all that humanity crammed into one stretch of beach amidst a usually slow, rural, sleepy, seaside town – the logistics would be a nightmare.

In that same aspect, even the challenges that have come to test the organizers of Sarangani Bay Festival have grown in proportion. Along with the swelling of the party crowd, the need for bigger tent cities has also grown.

The necessity for more porta-lets or portable toilets and added bathrooms for rinsing and basic bathing have also made itself felt.

Of course the organizers are making yearly adjustments, but what do you expect when they prepare for 80,000 this year based on the 70,000 last year and they unexpectedly hit 100,000?

Logistics are a nightmare, they always are and they would be decisively so for the coming SarBay Festivals. This if the number of people would continue to multiply exponentially with each year.

And while the concern showed by environmentalists/conservationists in the aftermath of the Fest is understandable – after all SarBay fest was founded mainly for tourism and environmental preservation and awareness purposes– the local government of Sarangani and Glan was clearly on top of things. Clean-up drives and beach restorations have always been a part of the SarBay Festival tradition, although less interest is generated by these initiatives.

The ignorance over what happens after SarBay Fest by people outside of Sarangani was made glaring when this year’s Sarangani Bay Festival was almost unfairly marred by social media commentaries based on a lone photograph of the day-after thrash on the beach. The photo which had hundreds of shares and likes on social networking websites like Facebook was later found out to be that of last year’s festival.

The photo in question was featured in a blog that attempted a “before and after comparison” of the Glan Beach front subsequent to a clean-up drive that was organized by private companies in 2013.

Even so, that same photograph would spark social decry of the attitude shown by SarBay Fest attendees and painted organizers as irresponsible party coordinators.

This fury quickly died down when no less than a couple of hours later, photographs of a now clean Sarangani Beach spread like wildfire online.

The campaign entitled #ilovecleansarbay was led by Sarangani first lady Michelle Solon along with the SarBay Festival organizers and the Sarangani Information Office. The spirit of the campaign was quickly picked up by SarBay citizens who were more than happy to show that the real spirit of environmental protection and preservation is still alive despite the part feel that has come to define what Sarangani Bay Festival is.

The future of Sarangani Bay Festival

Weeks after the May 16-17, 2014 Sarangani Bay Festival, the party fever is still palpable especially online but while tan lines will fade and sunset selfies in the Sarangani shore will soon be replaced with other youthful self-portraits the prospect of the next SarBay Fest will always be looming in the future itinerary of those that have caught the beach bug.

And just like a young lady, this year’s SarBay Fest might have stumbled over a few rocks; she might have nicked her image over a few stones – but believe you me she will pick herself up, dust herself off, roll down her awesome hair, flash that amazing Sarangan smile and she will raise her hands up to welcome the coming of the next Sarangani Bay Festival.

Perhaps, Jay Contreras the front man of the band Kamikazee said it best when it comes to summing up what to expect for the future of Sarangani Bay Festival, “The best, ulitin natin to next year.” (JED RESTON of Brigada Mass Media Corporation for SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE)