CIVIC CIRCLE
“Who, being loved, is poor?”– Oscar Wilde
February is Heart month for the romantic Filipinos, so any affair of the heart is cause for celebration.
The Dumaguete Boulevard Pantawan is a great venue for any community activity, and February 15, Tuesday afternoon this week, the grand 2022 Kasalang Bayan took place at the beautiful Pantawan People’s Park.
Aptly called Pantawan Kasalan, the mass wedding, with a fully decorated wedding aisle and the full moon slowly lighting up the sky as dusk settle, an afternoon wedding by the sea, was really a sight to behold and fascinated many, considering the crowd in attendance. The live stream wedding of the year on facebook drew viewers from all over.
Driving by the boulevard that afternoon, I was happily surprised to see couples in varying wedding attire coming in motorcycles, cars and rushing to the Pantawan area. These couples are ordinary folks who have lived together without finalizing the legal side of marriage. This Kasalang Bayan is one chance to tie the knot without having to worry about the wedding costs as many generous sponsors coordinated by the organizers have shouldered the expenses, including the wedding rings, the fancy reception and the costs for the licenses. Gifts from sponsors were also given away.
I saw the brides and grooms of varying ages, many arriving in their motorcycle already in their wedding attire, couples holding hands running, crossing the street, a bridegroom putting on his barong by his motorcycle, a bride picking up her bridal skirts crossing the street; an atmosphere of excitement fill the air and that side of the boulevard was filled of brides and grooms rushing to the “altar” on time!
Kasalang Bayan or Kasal ng Bayan is a Tagalog term meaning a collective wedding or mass wedding in which several couples wishing to legalize their relationships are married at the same time in the same venue by a solemnizing official. Kasalang Bayan seems to be popular in many parts of the Philippines and Dumaguete holds its yearly Kasalang Bayan, except for last year 2021 due to the restrictions of the pandemic. Thankfully this year with lesser restrictions, Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Remollo pushed through with it. Judging by the response, 184 couples of the 200 registered couples showed up at the Wedding venue, this was a welcome and long awaited event for the couples.
The facebook livestream under Lupad Dumaguete showed the wedding live. Shown on facebook were the rows and rows of happy nervous fidgety couples, the happy City Mayor “Ipe” solemnizing the wedding, the many sponsors witnessing the event, the Official guest of the occasion Actor Ian Veneracion serenading the newlyweds after the ceremony, and the fireworks after!
During this difficult time, the happiness and good cheer brought about community activities like the Kasalang Bayan bring joy and some relief for Dumaguetenos. With the coming summer season, let us look forward to more activities in the Pantawan Park of our beautiful boulevard; a place to relax, to come together while observing health protocols.
Happy events and activities will certainly bring some normalcy into our daily lives at this time.
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