3rd Pinakbet Festival on in Marcos, Ilocos Norte

Taking pride of this town’s favorite Ilocano dish locally known as “pinakbet” — a mix of indigenous vegetables steamed in fish sauce — residents here on Thursday ushered the opening of the 3rd Pinakbet Festival, now on its third year.

Pinakbet came from the contracted Ilokano word ‘pinakebbet’ which means “shrunk” or “shriveled.”

As a way of thanksgiving, the Pinakbet Festival is a repository of the town’s Ani (harvest) festival being celebrated every month of March but was later on moved to December to accommodate more “balikbayans” wanting to join the festivity.

Residents in this agricultural town derive most of their income from the harvest of high value crops, including rice, tobacco and corn as staple crops.

This year, the week-long festivity highlighted a grand parade around the town plaza Thursday morning and a Pinakbet Cook Fest at the municipal gymnasium to showcase the best pinakbet in town. A boodle fight followed suit.

Earlier also Thursday, a fun run was participated by various groups of public and private organizations.

Marcos town is a fourth class municipality of Ilocos Norte with a population of more than 15,000 or 3,059 households based on latest census.

The town was named after the late Assemblyman Don Mariano Marcos, father of former president Ferdinand E. Marcos. It was formally separated from its mother municipality on September 11, 1963 which coincided with the birth of the late strongman. (PNA)LAP/LGA