All set for Sugar Cane Festival

The Valle de Pesé, known as 'the industrial town', is preparing to celebrate the 67th Sugar Cane Festival, to take place from March 14 to 17, 2013.

Over the past week considerable work has been done to set up the stage where the festival queen will be crowned and bands will perform. Remarkably, it is being constructed entirely out of the town's signature product: sugar cane and its derivatives (cores, fibers, bagasse).

Héctor Mencomo, organizer of this popular event, said that the activity will kick off on the evening of Thursday, March 14 with the farewell ceremony for Rita Mencomo, 2012 Queen, and the coronation of her successor Viviana Atencio.

The day after the inauguration, the festival program continues with a night parade of floats. On the 16th, a horseback-riding parade with the finest horses is scheduled for the afternoon, and a procession of cars at night.

On Sunday March 17, the last day of the festival, 16 delegations will participate in a grand parade of carts, which should be made out of sugar cane byproducts and decorated with national folkloric themes.

Event organizers also specified that an investment of $26,000 is necessary in order to put on this festive activity, which they are acquiring by holding fund-raising activities, complemented by funds from the queen and private businesses.

Ibeth Hernández, who has been attending the festival for years, noted that it is impressive to see how sugar cane is used to create works of art, which the fairgoers find astounding.

Source: www.elsiglo.com