BAGUIO CITY – More than 500 Igorots based in the United Kingdom (UK) will be holding their 2nd Lang-ay festival in Camden, London on July 25.
The theme of this year’s event as per the organizers is “Moving Forward Towards One Community, One Heritage and One Culture.”
The 2nd UK Lang-ay festival is organized by the Mountain Province Federation of Municipalities – UK with coordinators Robert Cadiogan, Jr., Melchor Fagyan, Naomi Pespes and Jackie Lao-e.
Aside from the members from the organization from different parts of UK, expected participants of the second staging of the UK Lang-ay festival will be members of the sub-tribes of the different member organizations of the Igorot Global Organization (IGO) in Uk. Mountain Province Fed-Uk is one subgroup of the IGO-UK..
It was learned that the UK Lang-ay festival was supposed to coincide with the celebration of the Lang-ay festival in Mountain Province last April but due to the problem on synchronizing the schedules of the members plus the fact of needing to prioritize their work schedules, the celebration was agreed to be conducted on July 25.
The Mountain Province Federation of Municipalities – UK started in 2012 with Edward Tulgade and Vicky Malinias as coordinators but there was less participation from the members because of the need to concentrate on their respective work assignments and that members had also to concentrate on their respective municipal organizations.
The first UK Lang-ay festival was held in June 2013 and it was supposed to be held annually but they were not able to hold it last year because of the absence of sufficient coordinators and the numerous conduct of Igorot festivals in UK.
In order to guarantee the maximum participation of members from the different municipalities of Mountain Province, the organization decided to install the four coordinators who will take charge of ensuring the successful conduct of this year’s Lang-ay festival in order to strengthen the bond of Igorots in the United Kingdom.
According to Cadiogan, who is the IGO-UK vice president and the coordinator of the Mountain Province Federation of Municipalities – UK, “The aim of the celebration will not only promote our rich and unique culture but will also educate our community about the importance and significance of our culture in maintaining unity and camaraderie. We are proud to be one in our dreams and aspirations in moving forward despite our different cultures and traditions.”
By Dexter A. See