Aquino: April 30 nonworking day in Dagupan for bangus festival

Residents in Dagupan City in Pangasinan may get a long weekend of sorts as Monday, April 30, is a special non-working day there. President Benigno Aquino III declared April 30 a special nonworking day so the city's residents can celebrate the traditional Bangus Festival. Aquino issued the declaration through Proclamation No. 371 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. last April 25, according to a Malacañang statement. The Bangus Festival kicked off on April 13 with the holding of Bangus Ed Carosa Parade and a Grand Opening Ceremony. The celebration will end on May 1. Malacañang noted the Bangus Festival earned international attention in 2003 when Dagupan City won the Guinness World record for the longest barbecue pit. At the time, participants put 2,000 barbecue grills side by side along a two-kilometer stretch of road along A.B. Fernandez Avenue, and barbecued 24,000 bangus. While Peru overtook Dagupan's record in 2004, Dagupan recaptured it the following year. According to an article on the Dagupan Bangus Festival website, the occasion was conceptualized in August 2001 and launched in 2002 as a part of the annual Pista'y Dayat celebration. — LBG, GMA News