With P50, you can eat all fruits you want in Kidapawan

FRUITS GALORE Tribal elders sample fruits offered to visitors during the Timpupo Festival in Kidapawan City.

KIDAPAWAN CITY — This provincial capital of Cotabato has prepared an “all-you-can-eat” fruit spread for its visitors during the city’s 71st founding anniversary for a minimal fee.

The catch?

For P50, visitors may eat all the locally grown lanzones, rambutan, mangosteen, marang and durian they can at fruit stands set up at the city plaza, but a “no take home, no leftover” policy is imposed.

No ‘take home’

“Eat all you can but do not take anything home,” Mayor Joseph Evangelista said as he welcomed visitors to the three-day “Timpupo” (harvest) fruit festival, a highlight of the city’s anniversary celebration. About 6,000 kilograms of assorted fruits are spread out daily during the event, which opened on Monday.

A P200 fine will be imposed on anyone found sneaking out fruits. Participants should finish what they take or pay another P200 fine.

Celebrating culture

Kidapawan has been staging the festival for the past three years to promote fruits grown in the city and to celebrate the diverse and colorful culture of indigenous peoples here.

Evangelista said other highlights of the anniversary celebration, which opened on Aug. 10, were the city-wide fruit tree planting activity, search for the 2018 Binibining Kalikasan, trade exhibit, farm family day, Kidapawan culture and arts exhibit and a costume parade. —Edwin O. Fernandez