10 colorful and vibrant

Filipino festivals
Source: https://www.skyscanner.com.ph/news/tips/10-festivals-to-look-forward-to-in-the-philippines-in-2016/

Are you always on the lookout for festive celebrations? Want to experience the biggest
parties and most colorful fiestas in the Philippines next year? Mark the dates, and join the
euphoric Pinoy-style merrymaking, as Skyscanner presents you the 10 festivals to look forward
to in the Philippines in 2016.
1. Ati-Atihan Festival – Kalibo (January 8 - 17)
With its catchy and popular tag line
“Hala Bira”, Ati-Atihan Festival is easily one
of the most recognized and anticipated
occasions in 2016 for foreigners and locals
alike. Heralded as the grand-daddy of all
festivals in the Philippines, the Ati-Atihan
Festival is a week-long convivial celebration
full of traditional competitions, culture
dances, concerts and other awesome
events. The festival will culminate with a
dazzling parade that features tribal dancers,
face-painted celebrants, loud drumbeats,
and indigenous weapons and costumes.
2. Sinulog – Cebu City (January 17)
Sinulog – the biggest and most spectacular
festival in the Philippines – is truly
considered to be a can’t miss colorful and
exuberant extravaganza. From a vibrant
street parade with elegantly dressed
revelers to live street party bands and
thunderous pyro shows, this globally
renowned festival will be jam-packed with
fun-filled events and attractions. As a
matter of fact, the city will have a plethora
of surprises and treats in every corner
during this festive day, including weird ones like free hugs and python massages.
Held in honor of Santo Niño, Sinulog 2016 will show the religious side of the city
combined with fascinating traditions of the Cebuanos. And for those who are fond of
Filipino showbiz, you can expect plenty of celebrity sightings during this festive gala as
well.
3. Panagbenga Festival – Baguio (February 1)
 Panagbenga Festival, or also
called as the “Blooming Flowers Festival”,
is a yearly floral spectacle that deserves
a spot in this list. With tons of parades
featuring floral floats and kids dressed as
fauna and flora, it certainly lives up to its
name and billing, making “The Summer
Capital of the Philippines” the ultimate
destination for Pinoys who still have a
hangover from Sinulog and other upbeat
festivals in January.
4. Bamboo Organ Festival – Las Piñas
(February 18)
Bamboo Organ Festival may not be
as glamorous and flashy as most other big-
time traditional Philippine fiestas, but it is
absolutely a unique festival that every
Pinoy music lover must experience in 2016.
While it won’t feature notable pop acts like
the Pinoy rock icon Bamboo Mañalac or
local Youtube sensations, the festival will
still give you a sweet eargasmic experience
through a scintillating musical show steered
by talented organists who’ll play the world’s
first and only bamboo organ.
5. Moriones Festival – Marinduque (March 29)
Marinduque’s week-long Lenten
Season celebration is what makes this
island province one of the top destinations
in the Philippines during Holy Week.
Combining Catholic pageantry with folk
mysticism, this fabulous festival pays tribute
to St. Longinus – the centurion who pierced
Jesus Christ with a lance in his side. During
the festival, the centurion’s story will be re-
enacted in a beautiful and theatrical play
that’s staged by the locals. Also, there will
be a lot of festival revelers who’ll wear intricate masks during the festival, roaming the
streets and jostling people for some good spirited fun.
6. Aliwan Festival – Pasay City (April 16)
The Aliwan Festival, although it’s
relatively new, is by far one of the most
popular festivals in the country. As a matter of
fact, it’s so popular that it is often lauded as
the “Mother of all Festivals” in the country.
Started in 2003, this colorful festival has
flourished into a household name, and has
become a must-attend fiesta for culture
vultures. Known more as a competition than a
festival, Aliwan Festival aims to promote the
country’s different cultures not just to its own
people, but to the rest of the world as well.
7. Pahiyas Festival – Lucban (May 15)
Celebrated every 15th of May in
Lucban, the Pahiyas Festivals is an
extravagant thanksgiving ritual for the bountiful
harvest to San Isidro Labrador, a Spanish farm
worker and a patron saint of laborers,
peasants and farmers. One of the most
colorful and elaborate festivals in the
Philippines, Pahiyas is famous for its grand
display of vegetables, fruits, colorful kiping
(rice wafers), and handicrafts that adorn the
houses participating in this festival.
8. Kadayawan Festival – Davao (August 16)
Kadayawan – arguably the biggest
and grandest festival in Mindanao – has all
the hallmarks of a great and vivid
traditional Filipino festival. Not only does it
feature a street dancing parade, but it also
has beauty pageants, captivating fireworks
displays and eye-catching floral floats.
Showcasing fruits, flowers and other
produces that abound in the archipelago’s
second largest island, Kadayawan Festival
is a celebration of the abundance of Davao
and the rest of Mindanao

9. MassKara Festival – Bacolod (October 16)

With electrical displays, street
dancing, and colorful masks, it’s no
wonder throngs of travel junkies from
all over the Philippines come to the
“City of Smiles” to witness and
experience this zesty, psychedelic and
wondrous celebration. Of course, there
will be concerts, other special shows to
heighten the merrymaking.

10. Giant Lantern Festival – San Fernando, Pampanga (December 19)

San Fernando’s Giant Lantern
Festival is a razzle-dazzle Christmas
contest that will wow its spectators with its
hypnotizing, gigantic and bright lanterns.
One of the rising stars in the country’s rich
and diverse festival scene, Giant Lantern
Festival is becoming quite popular that the
city of San Fernando has been fondly
nicknamed as the “Christmas Capital of
the Philippines”