By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff reporter
DINGRAS, Ilocos Norte—With a
thankful heart, local residents here gathered in front of the heritage church
of Saint Joseph, the town’s patron saint to celebrate his day of feast on March
19.
St. Joseph Church, known as
one of the biggest in the country with a length of 90 feet and a width of 20
feet underwent a major facelift through a fundraising initiative initiated by Dingras’
local residents and other balikbayans
[Ilocano immigrants] now based in Hawaii and mainland United States of America.
Seeing the transformation of
the church, Dingras Mayor Erdio Valenzuela said the municipality is blessed to
have its people helping transform the community into a peaceful and more
progressive municipality in Ilocos Norte’s second district.
The feast day of St. Joseph,
the husband of the Virgin Mary, every 19th day of March
coincides with the town’s weeklong Ani [Harvest] festival, which is now on its
14th year.
Mr. Valenzuela and the
officers and members of the Dingreños Association of Hawaii graced the
re-opening of the church on the early morning of March 19 as one of the ten
pilgrimage sites in the province.
With this year’s theme, “Sirib
ken anus—gameng dagiti umili iti agtultuloy nga idudur-as ti Dingras [Knowledge
and hard work, treasures of Dingras for continued progress]”, the Ani festival
2015 showcased a selection of agro-industrial and commercial trade, attended by
balikbayans, guests and other
visitors.
A grand parade featuring
various stakeholders in Dingras was also staged and followed by the coronation
of Miss Dingras 2015.
Founded in 1598, this second
class municipality is one of the oldest towns in Ilocos Norte formed by Spanish
authorities. Although it is not the largest town in the province, Dingras,
covering a land area of 17,962 hectares, has been acclaimed as the “rice
granary” of Ilocos Norte mainly because it has been blessed with fertile
fields, vast plains and abundant water supply.
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