The II Regional Book Fair ended last night with President Fernandez and the First Lady in attendance. The closing ceremony took place in the “Restauracion” salon of the Gran Teatro del Cibao.
Minister of Culture Jose Rafael Laantigua welcomed the audience, and said that the months of work that went into the preparation of the fair was well worth the effort. He said that “it couldn’t have been any better.” During the ceremony, five provinces were awarded handsome sums of money for their outstanding participation in the fair. These were Monsignor Nouel (Bonao), in first place, followed by Dajabon, Monte Cristi, Duarte (San Francisco de Macoris) and La Vega. The Armed Forces Ministry won a special commendation for the restoration work done on the San Luis Fort. Architect Ricardo Rodriguez won a special award for his work on the Professor Juan Bosch pavilion. Chef Raudy Torres won the prize for the best food at the fair. At the end of the ceremony, Patricia Peryra sang Juan Lockward’s song, “Santiago”, and the choral group, accompanied by the Folkloric Dance troupe recited the poem “I’m from the Cibao”. Over one hundred thousand people visited the fair over the last week.