Mayor joins Bacolodnons in California

Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia, together with Carson City Mayor Jim Dear, attended a gathering of some 50 Bacolodnons in Pasadena California, according to a press release from the PIO office. The event was organized by the Bacolod Society in America (BSA), headed by Al Denila.

Leonardia gave participants an update on Bacolod City by citing highlights of his 2011 State of the City Address.

He also took the opportunity of launching the campaign for the 33rd MassKara Festival for 2012, even just at the heels of the "closing ceremonies" of the hugely successful 32nd festival this year, the release further said.

In response to an invitation personally extended to them by Leonardia last May, BSA sent a delegation to witness the last MassKara Festival.

Earlier, Leonardia and Dear were part of a historic event in Carson City involving the groundbreaking ceremonies for a Dr. Jose Rizal monument to be erected at the International Sculpture Garden of that city.

In Carson City, two mayors vowed to persuade their councils to approve a Friendship Pact between their two cities. The Pasadena affair bolstered their resolve. - PIA — ARA