‘Tara, maki-Fiesta!’

Did we say Philippine festivals happen all year round in different parts of the country? Oh, yes! In January alone, there had been several festivities dedicated to the Feast of the Sto. Niño (Holy Child Jesus) with the popular ones being Ati-Atihan, Sinulog and Dinagyang. There are also so much more fiestas to go to in February, March, April, May and June.

For the second half of the year, here are the annual celebrations—either with religious origins or economic purposes—that you can check out for your next travels, so you can plan ahead.

JULY

Bocaue Pagoda Festival

Celebrated every first Sunday of July, this religious event takes place in Bocaue town, Bulacan, to honor the Holy Cross of Wawa with a fluvial parade (hence its other name, Bocaue River Festival). The procession is led by a large ceremonial barge that carries a many-tiered tower called pagoda, where the venerated crucifix stands for everybody to see.

Kinabayo Festival

Hold your horses! Kinabayo Festival is actually one of the two festivities held every 25th of July in Dapitan City, Zamboanga de Norte, to honor Saint James The Greater, also called “The Moor Slayer.” This festival dramatizes the triumph of the Catholic defenders over Mohammedanism in the old times. The other festivity, Sinug, sees the townspeople holding San Francisco leaves and dancing while in a procession to bring their patron saint’s icon to his church.

AUGUST

Palu-Palo Festival

Batanes is not only picturesque but also culturally rich, as evidenced by its own Palu-Palo Festival that takes place every 4 to 5 August in the provincial capital municipality of Basco. The festival’s name refers to the sticks used by the natives, who belong to the Ivatan ethnic group, to defend themselves against colonial forces. A battle’s reenactment, with the participants wearing traditional clothes, serves as the highlight of the festivities.

Kadayawan Festival

Davao City’s annual festival culled its named from the word madayaw, which means “valuable, good and beautiful” in the dialect spoken by the indigenous people of Mandaya in Mindanao. It is a day of thanksgiving held on the third week of August (this year, it falls on the 18th) with street dancing, floral float parade, cultural festivities, concerts and other activities.

SEPTEMBER

Tuna Festival

Proving to be the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines,” General Santos City in the southern part of Mindanao dedicates the first week of September in showcasing its famous fish import and other marine resources. The Tuna Festival is celebrated with various activities, such as a float parade, food fair, culinary contest, street dance competition, tourism-related pageant and a lot more.

Peñafrancia Festival

The highlight of this festival that honors the patroness of Bicol region, Our Lady of Peñafrancia, is the fluvial procession held every third Saturday of September (which falls on the 21st this year). But make sure to be in Naga City a few days earlier to catch the Peñafrancia Traslacion procession from the Old Shrine to Naga Metropolitan Cathedral and from there, later on, to Reina del Bicol Landing.

OCTOBER

Lanzones Festival

Lovers of lanzones should not miss this festival celebrating the bountiful harvest of the sweet, round fruit in the island-province of Camiguin every third week of October. Aside from having a fill of lanzones and enjoying the festivities, there are many other attractions to check out: volcanoes, lagoons, springs, waterfalls and a sunken cemetery.

MassKara Festival

Get to experience to the max why Bacolod, the capital of Negros Occidental, is called the City of Smiles by attending the nearly month-long MassKara Festival, which culminates in a grand parade on the fourth Sunday of October (it falls on the 27th this year). That’s because the numerous participants in the parade don colorful clothes and masks with smiling faces as the rest of the locals flash their pearly whites.

NOVEMBER

Pintaflores Festival

The Pintaflores Festival is another showcase of Negros Occidental’s colorful and creative heritage. Happening every fifth day of the month in San Carlos City, the festival features two main events: Nabingkalan Tattoo Festival (representing “pinta”) and the Dances of Flowers (“flores” in Spanish). Likewise worth visiting is the festival taking place on the same day in the nearby Bago City called El Cinco de Noviembre, a.k.a. Kanyon Festival.

Higantes Festival

The Higantes Festival is celebrated in Angono, Rizal, just a day before the feast day of the town’s patron, Saint Clement, commences on 23 November. But it actually has secular origins. The hundreds of giant papier-mâché puppets that are paraded on the streets represent how the common folks protested against oppression during the Spanish colonial era.

DECEMBER

Galicayo Festival

The Manaoag town in Pangasinan has become one of the country’s top pilgrimage sites because of miraculous origins of The Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag. In line with this, the town created the Galicayo Festival as a call (galicayo means “come here” in the provincial dialect) to the people from all over for a celebration of faith, culture and the arts from 1 to 9 December of each year.

Giant Lantern Festival

Come Christmas season, practically all places in the country are kumukuti-kutitap (sparkling) with multi-hued lights. But the city of San Fernando in Pampanga takes the cake because it is home to the top manufacturers of parols (lanterns) with mechanical lights. Thus, the creation of the Giant Lantern Festivals that takes place starting 16 December (coinciding with Simbang Gabi) until New Year’s Day.