A garden show and
Adobo Festival in Silay

There were beautiful lush ornamental plants all over the place giving it a soothing, relaxing look. Seen among the guests were Silay first lady Marissa Montelibano (who cut the ribbon) and Vice Mayor Mark Golez (a close buddy of Nene's son Glenn from their La Salle days), and so many more plant lovers who enjoyed checking out the array of plants.

There were also seedlings and organic vegetables on display by the different garden owners in Talisay, Silay and Bacolod . I kidded Nene about being the “Al Gore” of Silay with his passion for preserving the environment and minimizing pollution. He told me he had always wanted to be an agriculturist as he was happiest when he was in a garden. This was one way of fulfilling his dream.

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Another big happening in Silay recently was the “Maghirupay Kita” benefit dinner, which was the opening activity for the 1 st National Adobo Festival, a yearly event at the Balay Negrense Museum for the past nine years.

This year the festival has gone national for the first time! When we arrived at the Silay Civic Center, we walked down a red carpet (ala Oscars!) to the main dining area where the tables were set for a formal dinner. On hand to welcome the guests were Lyn Gamboa, chairperson of the Negros Cultural Foundation, together with Cristina Montelibano, vice-chair. Seen among the VIPs were Silay Mayor Oti Montelibano and wife Marissa, Rep. Kako Lacson (Neg.Occ., 3 rd district), and Nancy Reyes Lumen of Aristocrat, etc.

There were three outstanding local chefs: Pancho Bringas of Sugarland Hotel, JP Anglo of Mu Shu Restaurant and Mia Gonzaga, a New York-trained caterer. We were enthralled by the culinary feast that greeted our eyes – the gastronomic delights were simply fabulous! It surely raised the level of the ordinary adobo dish to the sublime. As we enjoyed our dinner, we were entertained by the famous Kabataang Silay Ensemble and Rondalla. What a pleasant experience it was indeed.*