SAN JUAN, Ilocos Sur — Local folks of this town are trying to make a record at the Guinness Book of World Records by presenting their longest mat during the first "Buri Festival" slated on Dec. 27 – 30.
Mayor Benjamin Sarmiento said his townmates had already started to weave a 4-kilometer mat that will be laid down on the streets during the opening of the festival.
Each mat weaver is set to make a five-meter-long mat. Then, the mats that would be made by all the weavers of the town will be connected to complete the 4-kilometer-long mat.
"Our "Buri Festival" jibes with the celebration of our town fiesta, which we usually call "San Juan Christmas Festival." However, we realize that we need to focus our feast into one of our major products, so we chose the Buri Festival to promote our weave products and the tourism industry," Sarmiento said.
"Our celebration for this year is different because we want to put our town in the world map as the producer of world’s longest mat," he added.
He hoped that through the "buri festival," the town’s economy will get a boost with the promotion of weave products that is expected to increase sales.
"After the festival, we will submit all the requirements that justify our longest mat in the world to the Alec Guinness Book of Records," Mayor Sarmiento said.
Among the highlights of the 3-day "Buri Festival" are a grand parade and streetdancing competition dramatizing the technology in making weave products; the opening of the newly constructed public market; amateur boxing bout; and coronation of Miss San Juan.
A tax holiday will also be granted to all local vendors and visiting vendors selling their wares during the festival.
Mayor Sarmiento said the town of San Juan is a major producer of weaved mats, hats and baskets in the Ilocos Region due to the abundance of buri (silag) plants in its eastern barangays.
"Our residents from at least 11 eastern barangays namely: Cacandungan, Darao, Lapting, Malammin, Labnig, Caronoan, Bannuar, Ressurecion, Camanggaan, Namuraya and Barbar are engaged in weaving of mats (banig), hat and baskets," he said.
In the weaving industry in San Juan, not a single part of the buri plant is wasted because the buri midribs is even used in making chairs. (Freddie G. Lazaro)
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