Cainta, Rizal — The country’s bibingka capital is gearing up for the 11th SumBingTik Festival (Suman, Bibingka, Latik), with a lineup of cultural and culinary events celebrating the municipality’s famed kakanin tradition.

The festival showcases Cainta’s deep-rooted heritage in rice delicacy making through decorated houses, food-centered activities, and community programs that reflect the town’s identity.

Cainta’s history of kakanin production dates back to World War II. The festival, launched in 2014 by Mayor Keith Nieto, continues to highlight local culture while honoring the town’s distinct culinary legacy.

The mayor traced Cainta’s bibingka origins to the Sepoys (Indian soldiers) who settled in the town after the British occupation of Manila in 1762. They introduced bebinca, a traditional Indian pudding that later evolved into the Filipino bibingka.

“They were the ones who started it... Every time somebody tries to trace the roots of the people of Cainta, where they came from, we always provide them a glimpse of history that these Sepoys took a significant role in the growing years of Cainta,” Nieto told Daily Tribune.

This year’s celebration officially kicks off with the much-awaited color fun run on Sunday, 23 November at 5 a.m., signaling the start of a week-long schedule of festivities leading to 1 December.

Nieto said the festival strengthens cultural awareness among Cainteños — reminding them of their identity, history, and shared pride as a community.

"It's highlighted also by the availability of our new museum where it's going to be a venue maybe for the theater, for the arts. So, I think there are some programs that will be held there,” he said.

“Ours is more of rekindling this bond so it does not die… it's something that we want the next generation to know so that they can continue doing it,” he added.

The festival is celebrated every 1 December, marking Cainta’s founding anniversary and the feast of Our Lady of Light, the town’s principal patron saint. It begins on 30 November, which coincides with the feast of the town’s first patron saint, Saint Andrew the Apostle.

Beyond decorated “SumBingTik” houses, this year’s highlights include:

• a color fun run

• a bikers’ fun ride

• Maya Negosyo caravan

• Caindakan sa Kalsada (street dance)

• concerts and multiple community-engaging events

“We are actually bonded by this common thing we call fiesta… But essentially, it's a cultural fiesta. It's not a religious fiesta,” Nieto emphasized.