Soli-Soli Festival

Cebu has all the reasons to celebrate because of its historical and cultural heritages. These celebrations are presented through dancing and mardi grass. Mostly are celebrated for the commemoration of the important events in the past while others are ways of thanksgiving for the blessings received.

There are dime a dozen festivals celebrated throughout Cebu Province and each has its distinctiveness. But mostly, the observances of these festivities are in cognizance of the town’s fiesta as the highlight of the town’s major celebrations.

In the case of Camotes, the town of San Francisco (Pacijan Island), the biggest town in Camotes in terms of population, land area and income celebrates the Soli-Soli Festival, a merrymaking celebration in thanksgiving for the abundance of Soli-Soli Grass that contributes a lot to the livelihood of the townsfolk.

The festival falls every 3rd Sunday of March in observance of the fiesta celebration of the town’s patron saint, St. Joseph. It is the most-anticipated event of the fiesta and definitely adds color to its festivity.

The Soli-Soli Festival is named after the native grass, Soli-Soli. This certain type of grass grew abundantly along the banks of Lake Danao, the only freshwater lake in Cebu and the second cleanest lake in the country. Lake Danao is a natural tourist destination and is teeming not just with the sundry variety of flora but also with marine species, both are vital as means of support to the dwellers of the island.

Soli-Soli grass is the main element of the different kinds of handicrafts such as bags, mats, hats and other decorative materials. These grasses are harvested, dried and woven into such and are then sold to the local and mainland market outlets.

In one way or another, the citizenry came up with the decision of thanking God above from the blessings and good things that are constantly poured into their lives through dance ritual. Hence, Soli-Soli Festival came forth. It is an occupational festival injected with religious sentiments.

The festival features street dancing competition, identical to the Sinulog Festival in Cebu City. It is typified by freestyle yet complicatedly choreographed dance steps in flamboyant costumes. However, the theme and the basic steps of the dance would correspond to harvesting and weaving of Soli-Soli.

Usually, the competition is held in the grounds of San Francisco Elementary School. Contingents are schools from different elementary and high schools. Soon, the dance fever has spread throughout the island. Every resident are no stranger to the beat and basic steps, even small kids.

As Camotes became the “Lost Horizon in the South”, the festival was included in the “One Town, One Product” slogan in coordination with the Provincial Government and Department of Tourism. This would boost the tourism industry of the locality and eventually, the town will be known throughout the world, of course with the undying cooperation of the townspeople.