Pagdiriwang 2009

Once again, Chevalier School celebrated its foundation days, known as "Pagdiriwang". Thanks to family influence and our annual participation, we secured a booth within the school grounds. Our pork barbecue and "waffle dog" have made quite an impression at this yearly event. Not to boast, but our products have become a compelling reason for some people to attend. My mom and my grand aunt, an elementary teacher at CS, have been selling at the Pagdiriwang event for countless years. I joined their team about a decade ago, and I've even mastered the art of cooking the "waffle dog," which became my responsibility alongside being the official driver.

As the event drew near, the annual debate between my mom and me ensued. She insists on calling our product a "waffle dog," which is technically incorrect. A waffle dog is a hotdog (or any edible item, really) cooked with pancake batter inside a waffle-dog iron, resulting in a distinctive criss-cross pattern. Ours, however, is deep-fried. The more appropriate name for it would be corndog, right? Unfortunately, many people have become accustomed to calling them waffle dogs and have no idea what corndogs actually are.

The first three days of Pagdiriwang were relatively quiet, with only a few activities taking place. The usual marriage, jail, and request booths were absent. However, on Sunday, the school grounds became bustling with activity. Parents armed with video or digital cameras flocked to the gymnasium to capture their kids' performances during the mass demonstration. Our booth was buzzing with customers. In the afternoon, even more, people arrived for the raffle and bingo. It seems that BINGO is a popular fundraising activity for a Catholic school.

After the four-day event, we were exhausted, but it was undeniably rewarding. It proved to be more lucrative than our Tigtigan, Terakan gig last year.