Tagumeño kids hone talents in eARTfest workshops

By City Information Office- Tagum

TAGUM CITY, DAVAO DEL NORTE—It was a summer well spent for about 164 Tagumeño children who cultivated their interests in different art and music disciplines through the eARThfest Summer Workshops jointly spearheaded by the City Government of Tagum and the City of Tagum Tourism Council from April 8 to May 6, 2012.

Now on its fourth year, the said festival offered training on visual arts, music arts, theater arts and dance arts, consisting of hip-hop and dance sports.

For the records, 43 kids enrolled in the visual arts classes, 14 in music arts, 19 in theater arts and 88 in dance arts.

After ten days of rigorous workshops with top-caliber resource speakers, the kids took the center stage in two separate recital programs held in Gaisano Mall and Gaisano Grand Mall last April 21 and May 6, 2012, respectively.

Mrs. Erlinda E. Loria, secretary of the city’s tourism council, stressed this is one good way of cultivating the talents of children and boosting their self-confidence. This was evident in her grandchild, Mrs. Loria said, whose grandchildren were among those who enrolled in the dance arts workshop.

This was echoed by 10-year old Joana Kenly Piñero who thanked the organizers for their continuing effort to hold this year’s workshops. “Through this, I was able to showcase my talents and made new friends,” she said.

The eARThfest in recent years paved the way for the birth of the Tagum City Organized Dance Sports Team whose members are graduates of the festival.

Rovelyn Marquesa, one of the participants of this year’s festival, also elevated the eARThfest’s ground-breaking phenomenon as she performed in Abreeza Ayala Mall in Davao City, being one of the invited guests during the second-leg of the launching of the One Region One Summer Fun of the Department of Tourism XI.

The resource persons for this year’s festival are as follows: Sheldone Rey Dacalos and Joey Zuleta (Hip-Hop), Aldrin Jardinel (dance sports), Ogie Cero and Sheila Labos (theater), Elena Baradas-Gementiza (music), and Sim Tolentino and Jojo Villanueva (visual arts).

As a way of expressing their gratitude to Tagum City Mayor Rey Uy, these children planted trees in the accretion area in Apokon.

Their parents also took time in painting chairs at the fabrication section of the Tagum City Motorpool, in support of Mayor Uy’s Care for School Chairs Program. (Louie Lapat of CIO Tagum)