The Pansi Cabagan cookfest was watched online in Cabagan, Isabela on January 22. (Photo courtesy of LGU-Cabagan, Isabela)
CABAGAN, Isabela – The coronavirus pandemic prevented Cabagan residents from displaying their annual giant noodle dishes, so organizers of the town’s Pansi Festival decided to showcase the municipality’s prowess with Pansi Cabagan online on Friday (January 22).
Pansi, Ibanag word for pancit (noodle dish), has been an annual event of Cabagan, from where the well-known “Pancit Cabagan” is derived.
Residents are always treated to huge servings of “Pansi Cabagan” in previous stagings of the festival.
The Pansi Cabagan cookfest was watched online in Cabagan, Isabela on January 22. (Photo courtesy of LGU-Cabagan, Isabela)
Because of the quarantine, residents had to settle for a virtual cooking contest, as well as online poetry readings, mural paintings, and other activities scheduled on Jan. 25, said Mayor Christopher Mamauag.
He said it was the only way to proceed with the annual festivity that honors the town’s thriving native noodle industry, although in a “simple way,” the mayor said.
The competing meals were later shared at the municipal hall.
The festival’s annual Kalesa, Kutseru, Kabayu (KKK) competition, and the inter-barangay calesa painting contests were scrapped due to health restrictions.