Philippines Offers Packed 2007 Calendar of Festivals, Events
If you are considering a visit to the Philippines' inviting cluster of 7,107 islands, 2007 is packed with celebrations and festivals that include an open invitation for fun. Whether it's a one-day local fiesta for a patron saint, a Mardi Gras-like event involving weeklong activity, or in some cases, a month-long festival – count on a "happening" of memorable proportions.
A great
number of festivals take place throughout the Philippines in
May, among them the annual Pahiyas Festival in Lucban at the
foot of Quezon Province's Mount Branahaw. Visitors will see
houses creatively decorated in fruits, vegetables and colored
rice paper. And what's a festival without parades, dancing and a
beauty contest, not to mention a procession of water buffaloes
dressed in outlandish costumes? Dates of the festival this year
are May 8-16.
Water buffaloes are a central interest on May 3 in
Pavia, north of Iloilo City on the triangular island of
Panay, where these strong animals pull
impressively-decorated bamboo carts in a 400-meter race.
This is great fun if you can pull yourself away from the
island's superb beaches! Visitors to the Philippines may
also wish to check out May's fascinating three-day
Obando Festival (May 17-19) in Bulacan province north of
Manila, where fishermen pray for good catches, farmers
pray for good harvest, and childless couples dance in
the streets in the hope their devotion to patron saint
Santa Clara will bring them babies (single men and women
dance on different days in the hope of finding their
soul mate).
As for action-packed June in the Philippines, visitors
may wish to consider the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival
(June 29) on the island of Leyte, where General Douglas
MacArthur first arrived to liberate the Philippines from
the Japanese in WWII. This month's festivities are
highlighted by the Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals, the
Pintados
Festival Ritual Dance Presentation, and a
"Pagrayhak"
Grand Parade all showcasing local culture and history.
Meanwhile, a Pineapple Festival (June 15-22) draws
interest and taste buds to the town of Daet and to the
"Formosa" variety that abundantly grows in the province
of Camarines Norte.For something completely different,
head to Balayan (Batangas Province) on June 24 for its
Parada ng Mga Lechon (Parade of Roast
Pigs).
Parading
around town, the animals are attired in wigs, jackets,
jewels, flowers, sunglasses, and whatever their
decorators may choose.
If a July Philippines stay is in your plans, join people
from around the Philippines and the world for the
month-long Bohol Sandugo Celebration (entire month of
July) in Tagbilaran involving street parades, church
services, fireworks, beauty pageants and lots more. The
festivities annually mark a treaty of friendship signed
in blood on March 16, 1565 between Spanish Captain
General Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and native chief Datu
Sikatuna.
Also of note is the Pagoda Festival held every first
Sunday in July in the town of Bocaue (province of
Bulacan), which commemorates the discovery of the Holy
Cross floating on the Bocaue River 200 years ago. A
replica of the cross on which Jesus was crucified is
paraded on a pagoda with magnificent trimmings. Hundreds
attend the procession, after which feasting and prayers
celebrate the legendary rescue of the Holy Cross from
the river.
August finds great interest in the Quezon town of Lucban
where, on August 19 in a Gigantes (Giants) Festival,
residents lovingly parade a 14-foot high papier-mâché
representation of a farmer, his wife and two children.
During the month of August, a full-blown fiesta is
dedicated to these symbolic fun-loving creatures, with
an enormous bright red papier-mâché bull rigged with
firecrackers paraded around the town plaza as part of
the celebrations, giving spectators additional thrills.
Meanwhile, Davao at the foot of Mt. Apo (the
Philippines' highest peak) comes alive every third week
of August celebrating their festival called Kadayawan sa
Dabaw -- one of the country's most popular and world
renowned, with jaw-dropping displays of fruits and
flowers, costumed street parades and cultural
performances.
As summer draws to a close in September,
calendar-of-events action keeps on a high level in
southeast Luzon's Camarines Sur when the city of Naga,
starting the second Friday of September each year,
offers nine days of parades, pageants, street parties,
singing contests, exhibits, concerts, and other
activities in celebration of the Feast of Nuestra Señora
de Peñafrancia. Late in the month (September 25 – 30),
surfing capital of the Philippines, Siargao, holds its
2007 International Surfing Cup competition. Siargao
boasts "Cloud Nine," which is regarded by surf
enthusiasts as nirvana for the world's best.
The Philippine Department of Tourism (PDOT) is one of
the Executive Departments of the Government of the
Republic of the Philippines responsible for the
promotion of travel to the Philippines, tourism
investments, and enhancement and preservation of tourism
products in the country. Field offices in New York, Los
Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco provide the following
services free of charge on a selective basis:
dissemination of tourism information, maps, brochures
and posters; lending out of videos, CDs and other
tourism-related materials; recommendations on places to
visit; endorsement of relevant entities; and assistance
to those traveling to the Philippines. These offices
also engage in a number of promotional activities:
presentations to travel organizations, travel trade
shows, media inserts and joint marketing arrangements.
(KAHN/PDOT)
