The Bantayog Festival continuous to relive the rich history of Camarines Norte while celebrating the province’s abundant and glorious blessings.

The festival, on its 14th year, was once again a huge success for the province, considered as the gateway to the Bicol Region.

The Bantayog Festival is celebrated as a commemoration of the country’s hero Jose P. Rizal’s first monument, which was erected in Daet, the provincial capital, two years after he was executed in Bagumbayan.

Though Jose P. Rizal did not have roots in Camarines Norte, the province initiated the need to place a monument for the hero as a tribute to all the revolutionaries who fought during Spanish colonization.

Camarines Norte also takes pride in its local heroes, Jose Panganiban, after which a town was named; revolutionary General Vicente Lucban and Lt. Col. Francisco Boayes (a.k.a. Turko); and World War II resistance leader Wenceslao Vinzons.

The festival also marked the 98th founding anniversary of Camarines Norte.

The series of festivities aimed to highlight the various offerings of different towns of Camarines Norte. The province consists of 12 towns: Basud, Capalonga, Daet, Jose Panganiban, Labo, Mercedes, Paracale, San Lorenzo Ruiz, San Vicente, Santa Elena, Talisay and Vinzons.

This year, the Bantayog Festival was successfully held from April 1 to May 6.

Each town participated in the grand street dance depicting their own celebrations. Several towns participated in the grand parade.

Street dancers from San Lorenzo showed off what they got with the Boyuboy Festival. This celebration aims to highlight the agricultural products of the town, especially their famous sweet pineapple. San Lorenzo is dubbed as home to the Queen pineapple.

Daet colored the streets with the Pinyasan Festival. The fest also showcases Queen Formosa, the pineapple variety considered the sweetest in the world.

For Basud, Rahugan Festival was featured, highlighting the local trait of being family-oriented and cooperative.

Mananap Festival is being celebrated in San Vicente where the popular Mananap River can be found. The town boasts of a variety of toursim spots like falls, resorts and rivers.

Capalonga, meanwhile, highlights the town’s abundance in tourism destinations and agricultural products with Palong Festival.

For Santa Elena, Padayong Festival is held as a thanksgiving for the town’s agri-products like palay and niyog.

Lastly, Paracale emphasizes the town’s gold-rich deposits with Pabirik Festival.

Aside from the colorful grand street dance parade showcasing the rich history and culture of each town in Camarines Norte, the festival also highlighted the local’s talents in the arts and sports.

Locals were able to show off their artistic side with an art exhibit, mural painting and photography contests.

Festival-goers also enjoyed participating in surfing clinics, mixed martial arts, beach volleyball, and futsal exhibitions.

The Bantayog Festival also aims to highlight different tourism products of Camarines Norte, which has now been named as one of the emerging destinations in the country.

Aside from the powdery-white sands, long stretch of beaches and stunning islands, Camarines Norte also underscores its different products through an agri-tourism trade fair held at the Freedom Park from April 17 to 29.

The Bantayog Festival 2018 was supported by local partners and major sponsors including Pagcor.

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