The town’s alumni, and that means everyone who studied in Bayambang (meaning practically everyone), are not to be left behind in the week’s festivities. The Grand Alumni Motorcade and Homecoming was, of course, waiting for them all, particularly the former high schoolers, whether they came all the way from Manila and other places in the country or abroad. The spirit of welcoming pervaded the air, even though the day’s temperature rose up to heat-stroke levels.

And come night-time, the Alumni Night was a magnet drawing everyone to the Public Auditorium, there to have a good time with long-lost friends, often for the first time in years, if not decades, and spend the night reminiscing the good old times in between dancing and drinking.

Among the highlights of the affair were the motivational speech of former beauty titlist Evangaline Pascual, the handing of special awards (largest delegation, best float, basketball champion, star of the night), and an intermission by Al Vincent Casela.

In his inspirational message, Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao instilled in everyone the value of being an alumnus or alumna of Bayambang’s educational institutions. “This night is a night especially reserved for you, in recognition of your contribution to our town, especially your role in its growth and development. Wherever you may be and whatever achievements you may have, your hometown shares in the honor because it had a crucial role in your formation and development as an individual and a professional. Wherever you go, you carry with you a part of your hometown because it is a part of your identity.”

“Being an alumnus from this town also means that most of your childhood friends came from here and are here now with you this evening, and that you only get to see one another during class reunions and other rare occasions like this. Let us therefore take this opportunity to enjoy each other’s company and maximize our stay here by celebrating together during our town fiesta. But more than the spirit of fun, let us also spend this time in the spirit of gratitude, in thanksgiving to God for family and friends, for work, for a place to come home to again and again, and for being a part of our respective schools, where we created beautiful memories with our batchmates.”

“If I may have an additional wish,” MCTQ went on, it is this: “May your yearly pilgrimage to our hometown inspire your respective batches to create worthy projects for the benefit of our people. It would be wonderful to think about our legacy to future generations of Bayambangueños so that even after we leave, a part of ourselves is always felt here by our townmates.”

“I also invite you to think of ways of giving back through investments and business ideas that could give employment to our people,” MCTQ added. “I believe Bayambang is now ripe for great opportunities. We are a town of 77 barangays with a population of almost 200,000. That is a lot of manpower and a lot of purchasing power.”

“In case you stay a little longer, I invite you to explore the town a bit to look for needs that you could possibly fill. You might find out opportunities in infrastructure, IT, healthcare, transport, hotel and restaurant, and other areas,” he concluded.