FOUNDATION for Lingap Kapampangan Inc. (FLKI) renewed its contract with Robinsons' Land Corporation as its major sponsor in the forthcoming Sinukwan Festival.

The contract signing took place on October 31 at the Fiesta Kapampangan, one of the two food courts in Robinsons' Starmills Pampanga that serves Kapampangan cuisine.

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Also signed on same date were the contracts with the festival's media partners, ABS-CBN Pampanga and CLTV 36, the two biggest media networks in Central Luzon.

Sinukwan Festival is a much awaited annual event in Pampanga that seeks to reserve and promote the culture and tradition of the Kapampangan by giving honor to its mythical king, Aring Sinukwan, who, according to legend, is residing at the majestic 1'1t. Arayat. The festival was started 12 years ago by FLKI, also known then as the Save Pampanga Movement, the officers and members of which are the forerunners in mobilizing support and lobbying for the construction of various interventions to prevent further destruction to Pampanga after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991.

The l2th Sinukwan Festival will hold a twin opening ceremonies simultaneously in front of the City Hall in the City of San Fernando and the Museo ning Angeles in Angeles City after the Holy Mass to be officiated at the San Fernando Cathedral and Holy Rosary Parish Church on November 29.

A motorcade will also be held to the site of the soon-to-rise Kapampangan Cultural Center in the former University of the Philippines-Pampanga campus in Sto. Nino, San Fernando, Pampanga for the inauguration of the "Pistang Pamangan Kapampangan (Festival of Kapampangan Food).”

Several restaurants from Pampanga and Manila that serves authentic Kapampangan cuisine are expected to participate in the Pistang Pamangan Kapampangan. One special feature of this activity is the cooking competition which aims to collect cheap and nourishing recipes. There will also be several cultural activities which will culminate with the Bossa Kapampangan Evening featuring the artists of ArtiStaRita and the newly released albums Pampanga's Best Bossa and Bossa Pampanga.

Other activities during the week aim to promote Kapampangan culture to the youth.

In cooperation with the Department of Education, there will be competition in Sapatya, Crissotan and Pulosa which will be participated by budding young singers and (in the province. There will also be a trade fair, a fashion show featuring the creations of Kapampangan designers and an exhibit of the craftsmanship and arts of the people of Pampanga at Robinsons Starmills.

In cooperation with the Center for Kapampangan Studies, Sinukwan Festival will hold, for the first time, a Kapampangan Short Film Festival which hopes to encourage our filmmakers to produce quality films in Pampanga using the Kapampangan language. During the premiere night on December 3, the film "Kinatay" which made the Kapampangan Brillante Mendoza the first ever Filipino to win a Best Director Award in the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, will be shown at Robinsons Cinema. The following day, films that have Kapampangan theme or Kapampangan actors will be shown at the Holy Angel University Theaters.

Interspersed in the showing of the films are lectures on the role of the Kapampangan in the movie industry. The Awards Night on December 5 will be preceded by the showing of the finalists in the short film competition at the Robinsons Cinema.

The much awaited annual activities of the festival are as follows: Prinsipe at Prinsesita ning Sinukwan Talent show (December 1) and Coronation Night (December 3); Lakan at Mutya ning Sinukwan Pre-pageant night (December 2); and coronation (December 4) and the street dancing competition (December 6).