The province of Gumaras has prepared 10 tons of sweet mangoes for the eat-all-you-can feast, one of the highlights of this year’s Manggahan Festival.

Liberty Ferrer, Provincial Tourism Office officer-in-charge (OIC), said for only P100, a visitor can enjoy unlimited mangoes in 30 minutes.

The venue for the feast can accommodate six batches at 100 guests per batch for 30 minutes.

According to Guimaras assistant provincial agriculturist Alvin Nava, guests can eat around two to 2.5 kilos on the average.

“So that’s 1.2 to 1.5 tons of mangoes in a day,” he said.

The eat-all-you-can feast, however, is slated only on weekends particularly on May 14-15,18, 20-22 since they are not yet sure of the condition since there is still a pandemic.

The 2022 Manggahan Festival kicked off at the at the Provincial Capitol grounds in the town of Jordan on Saturday, May 14.

Ferrer said they decided to bring back in-person activities “to support the recovery of our micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).”

The province also allotted 20 tons of mangoes for the 10 stalls available at the agri-trade fair, market linkages, and actual sales.

Other events for the festival are individual sports such as the bike fun ride and motocross 4×4 challenge; job fair; and nightly entertainment.

The online events consist of an audio-visual presentation showcasing the province’s heritage, culture and tourism dubbed as “Panakayon” and a mini-documentary featuring the best practices on environment, agriculture, and tourism sectors.

Currently, the province is under Alert Level 1. Visitors coming into the province, which is currently under Alert Level 1, are required to fill up a health declaration card prior to securing a ticket at the Parola wharf in Iloilo City, and to be submitted upon arrival at the Jordan wharf in Guimaras.

Upon arriving at the venue of the trade fair, guests again need to submit a health declaration form through quick response code and have their body temperature checked at the entrance.

“We are still considering that the process will be undergone but it will be lighter in the next remaining days of the festival. We are overwhelmed with the support of our local tourists from the Western Visayas,” Ferrer said.IMT