I learned from the Kaamulan Festival 2009 Chief Coordinator today that a total of seven (7) contingents will compete during the Kaamulan Ethnic Street Dancing competition this Saturday, March 7, 2009. The contingents will represent the cities of Malaybalay and Valencia and the municipalities of Cabanglasan, Kalilangan, San Fernando, Malitbog and Quezon.

I must admit, I was a little bit disappointed with the news. Out of 20 municipalities in Bukidnon and 2 full pledged cities and only 7 will vie for this year’s much-awaited event! However, the Kaamulan overall coordinator said that in recent years, the provincial government of Bukidnon has imposed a couple of changes in the way they handle the yearly festival — and the cutting down of budgets for official streetdancing competitors is one. Hopefully, this won’t deter tourists from coming as the Kaamulan Festival 2009 events have been pretty exciting so far.

Which reminds me — the Kaamulan Jam 2009 Lock and Load Battle of the Bands is finally done and over with! Thank goodness. That event left me sleepless for 10 days! I already posted some of the photos I took during the event over at Bukidnon Online so if you wish to check out some of my work, please don’t hesitate to visit

Anyways, going back to the Kaamulan Festival Streetdancing Competition – each contingent will have a float and the groups will also vie in two categories — the street dancing category (all contingents will pass through a large section of Malaybalay City’s main thoroughfare, Fortich Street) and the ground presentation category (the ground presentation will be held at the Capitol Grounds, Malaybalay City). The top prize, I think, is P150,000 — which I think is a bit too small considering that most, if not all, of the official contingents spend way more than that. Ah well…

If any of you are interested to watch the Kaamulan streetdancing competition this March 7, 2009, the event will start at 7 am at the Barangay Sumpong area of Malaybalay City (along Fortich Street). Contingents will, like I previously mentioned, pass through Fortich Street (hence, the traffic will be rerouted…buses, cars and other vehicles would need to take inner streets such as Magsaysay Street). Based on my previous coverages of Kaamulan street dancing events, I reckon all of the contingents should’ve already passed through Fortich Street at around 9 AM. Add the time needed for the ground presentations and I think the entire affair will end at around noon.

Things to remember:

- unless you’re an accredited member of the media, you can’t take pictures from the middle of the street. You can apply for accreditation from the PAIA (the Provincial Government of Bukidnon’s information arm)

- drink lots of water, bring a water bottle and some munchies. Stores along Fortich Street are usually closed until after the street dancing competition

- wear comfortable shoes. Chances are you would need to walk a lot because public utility vehicles (PUVs) such as multicabs and motorelas won’t be visible until after the competition. Besides, PUVs are not permitted to enter the Capitol Grounds at certain times so you may really need to put those legs to work

Have fun during the Kaamulan!

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