Colorful Festivals in Oriental Mindoro

FESTIVALS IN ORIENTAL MINDORO

Adyawan Festival

Photo from: https://allevents.in/oriental%20mindoro/adyawan-festival/134893127210683

Adyawan Festival is celebrated coinciding with the feast of Immaculate Conception. The activity displays the many uses of coconut – from its leaves, trunks, down to its root. Adyawan is one variety of this “tree of life “ that is common among the Iraya-Mangyans of San Teodoro. This festival further highlights the culture and tradition of this indigenous group, making them realize that they are part of the community manifested in the town’s festive way of holding the celebration. Read More: https://orientalmindoro.wordpress.com/

Bahag-hari Festival

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Bahag-hari Festival is a colorful celebration highlighted by street dancing, a parade of colorful floats, and a different kind of Moriones Festival. As indicated by an old story, the early pioneers of Pinamalayan originated from Marinduque. While on their approach to Mindoro utilizing their pontoons, they experienced turbulent climate and lost their course. They appealed to God Almighty for deliverance and direction so the climate cleared and a rainbow showed up upcoming. The team yelled ipinamalay signifying “it was made known”. They took after the course of the rainbow and arrived at what is presently Barangay Lumangbayan and built up the principal settlement which they named Pinamalayan. Read More: https://www.hellotravel.com/events/bahag-hari-festival

Banana Festival

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The Banana Festival, held every March 18 to 19 in Baco, Oriental Mindoro, is a celebration of the abundance of bananas. It showcases the different varieties of banana like the Senorita, the Latundan, the Lacatan and the Saba. It also features a banana cookfest and a “saba”-inspired street dancing competition and beauty pageant. Festivities coincide with the town fiesta held in honor of the patron, St. Joseph. Read More: https://famousfiestas.weebly.com/march-festivals.html

Basudani Festival

Photo from: https://mindorotravelguide.com/bansud-oriental-mindoro/

Basudani Festival is held every January 19 in Bansud, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. It is a street dance similar to Sinulog which depicts “thanksgiving” for the bountiful harvest. It is participated in by the different sectors of the community from school children to senior citizens. The event is annually held every January 19, the traditional town fiesta in honor of its Patron Sto. Niño. Read More: http://www.localphilippines.com/events/basudani-festival-of-bansud

Biniray Festival

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Biniray Festival of Bulalacao, held everyJune 29| Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines was brought in by the early settlers who came from the Island of Panay, this festival is done in honor of the town’s patron saints Peter & Paul, and is a way of thanksgiving for the blessings from the sea. The celebration starts in the early hours of the morning, with a flotilla of intricately-decorated boats that will encircle Bulalacao Bay and, landing onshore after, will be met by the townsfolk. Marching will continue on the streets with the icons of the two saints greeted in religious manners by the devotees. A procession is done later at twilight and, ending at the church-ground, the traditional “putong” (crowning) of the patrons complete the final rituals, amidst songs and dances by children and adults alike. A streetdancing is also staged during the day, participated in mostly by students in indigenous costumes. Read More: http://www.localphilippines.com/events/biniray-festival-of-bulalacao

Coco Festival

Photo from: https://allevents.in/oriental%20mindoro/coco-festival/1846355035655667#

The Coco Festival was birthed out of the need to commend this remarkable plant. Otherwise called the coco fest, the occasion’s unassuming beginnings can be followed back to 1996 when the main release of the festivals was held to respect the Hermit, St. Paul. This additionally bends over as an appreciation demonstration, so hope to see local people in their full customary clothing and viewpoint amid the celebration. The one-week celebration is an unquestionable requirement go to, particularly for nature sweethearts who are propelled by the outside. Toward the start of the Coconut Festival, pay special mind to the moving near the statue of the holy person. The night sessions are additionally an energizing piece of the celebration. Read More: https://www.hellotravel.com/events/coco-festival

Dabalistihit Festival

Photo from: http://flyinstyledaily.blogspot.com/2013/09/travel-dabalistihit-festival-naujan.html

The DABALISTIHIT Festival (September 10) is the town’s annual celebration featuring fish species that can be found on Naujan Lake such as Dalag, Banak, Banglis, Tilapia, Hito (hence the festival name) and other resources that can be found on and around Naujan Lake.

During the feast of Naujan’s patron saint San Nicolas de Tolentino, the festival participants gather with colorful costumes and they dance similar to the Ati-atihan of Kalobo, Aklan. Festivities include street dancing, showcasing and depicting several natural preservation efforts of the local community and the government. Read More: http://www.naujan.com/dabalistihit-festival/

De Galera Festival

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De Galera Festival showcases the rich historical, cultural heritage and natural resources of Puerto Galera.Celebrated every May 9 – 12 every year the highlight of the festival is the parade at the sea together with the devotees of Our Lady of Fatima. Read More: https://badladz.com/puerto-galera-festival/

Feast of St. John The Baptist / Lechon Festival

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At the Feast of St. John The Baptist / Lechon Festival held every June 24 at Pola, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines, people roast pigs or lechon garbed in creative costumes that are paraded around the town to the accompaniment of gay chanting and “buhusan” – a customary practice during the San Juan Bautista feast, which involves water dousing. A selection of the best from among the lechon entries follows, along with a free-for-all banquet open to the townsfolk and visitors alike. Read More: http://www.localphilippines.com/events/feast-of-st.-john-the-baptist-lechon-festival

Kalap Festival

Photo from: https://wanderingang.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/oriental-mindoro-the-islands-loveliest-harbor/

Kalap Festival is celebrated every March 21, it is the city’s official festival. It was originally derived from the tagalog word Kalap means to gather, during the old times people gather woods to provide warmth and to cook food. The term was then use as the name of the festival to show the culture and history of Calapan City. It was launched on 2009 and is still successfully being held every year. Participated by various sectors of Calapan’s broad citizenry, the people walk the city streets moving as one. It is intended to be a yearly celebration packed with performances, colorful floats, and most significant of all, history. Along the main streets, floats detail the defining moments of the city’s past, an insight into the City of Calapan of today. Read More: http://cityofcalapan.blogspot.com/2013/05/kalap-fest-or-kalap-festival.html

Kapakyanan Festival

Photo from: https://allevents.in/victoria/kapakyanan-festival/350828432039794#

Kapakyanan Festival is held every October 14-15 in Victoria, Oriental Mindoro. Kapakyanan means abundance. The festival focuses on the bountiful harvest of fruits and crops. Its highlights are street dancing and a beauty pageant with agriculture as the central theme. Read more: https://groupmindorawan.wordpress.com/2015/03/10/festivals/

Kawayanan Festival

Photo from: http://www.localphilippines.com/events/kawayanan-festival-of-gloria

The Kawayanan Festival happens every 1st of October. It started in 2003 and is held every year since then. The 1st of October also happens to be the founding anniversary of the town of Gloria.

From its name, the Kawayanan Festival celebrates one of the most abundant resources of the town, the bamboo. Gloria is home to wide areas of land for growing different bamboo varieties. Students from different levels perform in the street dance with costumes made from or inspired by bamboo. Meanwhile, the different barangays showcase various bamboo crafts from as small as home displays to as large as a whole bamboo hut. Read More: https://gslacdao.com/blog/gloria-oriental-mindoro-fabulous-kawayanan-festival/

Malasimbo Music and Arts and Festival

Photo from: https://www.townandcountry.ph/out-about/arts-culture/malasimbo-music-arts-festival-introduces-its-first-ever-silent-disco-a00183-20170306

The biggest Music Event celebrated here is the Puerto Galera Malasimbo Festival of Music and Arts. The first of its kind in Asia. Celebrated every March and divided into two weekends with different genres.

The first weekend will showcase artist from all around the world both upcoming and professional. If you’re into world music, banging beats and jazz-fusion, I suggest you should be at this weekend event. On the second weekend, the venue will be the place for the best funk, hip-hop, house and electronic music acts. Energetic dance crews and an amazing lights show combined together to get you grooving under the moon and the stars. Read More: https://badladz.com/puerto-galera-festival/

Mahalta Festival

Photo from: http://gallery.naujan.com/events/mahalta-festival-2010/

The Mahalta Festival honors the three most famous landmarks of the province of Oriental Mindoro – Mount Halcon, the Tamaraw and the Mangyans.

With an elevation of 8,488 feet (2,586 meters), Mount Halcon ranks as the third highest mountain in the Philippines. Many mountaineers consider it as one of the most difficult mountains to climb because of its knife edge ridges.

The Tamaraw or Mindoro Dwarf Buffalo is endemic to the island of Mindoro and is the only endemic Philippine bovine. The tamaraw was originally found all over Mindoro, from sea level up to the mountains, but because of human habitation, hunting, and logging, it is now restricted to only a few remote grassy plains and is now an endangered species.

On the other hand, the Mangyans, photographed and featured in local and international publications as well as the beneficiaries of numerous aid groups, are the indigenous people of Mindoro. All eight tribes are scattered all over the island with their own distinct culture and language. Read More: http://joxcam.blogspot.com/2011/12/mahalta-festival-festival-of-festivals.html

Mangyan Festival

Photo from: http://mansalay.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-first-ever-mangyan-festival-of.html

The Mangyan Heritage Center (MHC) has twice conducted the Mangyan Cultural Festival – first in 2007 and most recently in 2008. The 2008 festival took place 7-9 February at Jose J. Leido Memorial National High School in Calapan City and was run in cooperation with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Mangyan peoples organizations and the local government of Oriental Mindoro.

The Mangyan Cultural Festival is the only major cultural activity in Oriental Mindoro with representation from all seven Mangyan tribes in the province. Read More: http://www.mangyan.org/content/mangyan-cultural-festival

Pakapya-agtike Festival

Photo from: https://www.hellotravel.com/events/pakapya-agtike

For their bounty and blessed harvest, they show their gratefulness and thanksgiving through a festivity called Pakapya-Agtike. This is celebrated every 26th day of the month of July and features lot of activities such as cultural shows done by people of Socorro, parade of colorful floats. The highlight of this celebration is the street dancing competition showing how blessed they are in terms of agriculture done by group of Mangyan Tribes, students, schools’ faculties, and barangay residents and officials. This festivity is for thanksgiving to the rich harvest of Socorro’s farmers offered and celebrated in honor to the town’s patron saint the Holy Family. As they believe that they owe all of the fruits of their crops to them, they do this ritual yearly to achieve better harvest for each and upcoming years. What matters most on this celebration is that they celebrate what their tradition is and it gives smile to the visitors who travel extra distance to witness this culture-rich event. Read More: http://www.hotelsphilippines.org/holidays-events-a-fiestas/july/205-pakapya-agtike-festival-%E2%80%93-socorro,-oriental-mindoro.html

Palayan Festival

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Pamugu-an Festival

Photo from: https://allaboutfiesta.wordpress.com/2016/10/03/pamugu-an-festival-in-mansalay-oriental-mindoro-philippines/

Pamugu-an Festival in Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines is a festive reunion of different Mangyan tribes celebrated during the third week of October. There are sports events, such as the Palaro ng Lahi, cultural presentations, product demonstrations, and “Barakalan” or “baratillo” or sale of native products. Read More: https://allaboutfiesta.wordpress.com/2016/10/03/pamugu-an-festival-in-mansalay-oriental-mindoro-philippines/

Pandang Gitab Festival

Photo from: https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1068513

The Pandang Gitab Mindoro (“Festival of Lights”) is celebrated every November 15.

The Pandang Gitab Mindoro was coined from Pandanggo sa Ilaw and Dagitab (flicker of light), a lively street dancing, adapting the basic steps and music of the original Pandanggo sa Ilaw.

The style is the traditional saw and balance movements with the graceful shallow gyrating of hips and torso. It was danced as a send-off and welcome to the male villagers going out to sea for fishing in the cold early hours of the morning. This dance suggests the fitting use of the tinghoy (gasera or oil lamp) with its lighted wick helplessly flickering like fireflies in the wind-kissed darkness of the seafront. Read More: http://www.naujan.com/pandang-gitab-festival/

Sabutan Festival and Mini- Trade Fair

Photo from: http://www.whatshappening.com.ph/event/sabutan-festival

Coco Sabutan Festival is normally held each August thirteenth to nineteenth with a iety of occasions including a drum and lyre band rivalry, a ladies’ delight show, an exchange fair. Being in southern Luzon, Aurora is bottomless in coconut trees like its neighboring areas, for example, Quezon, Batangas and Laguna. The coconut is as yet an imperative yield, and 2,631.6 hectares, out of the town’s aggregate land territory of 9,255 hectares, are planted with coconuts. Then again, Baler takes pride in its sabutan, whose leaves are customarily woven into mats and caps. As of late sabutan leaves have been molded into ious things, for example, coin totes, sacks, table linens, shoes, and so forth. Read More: https://www.hellotravel.com/events/coco-sabutan-festival

Sabuyan Festival / Feast of St. John the Baptist

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The Sab’uyan Festival of Pola is celebrated everyJune 25th at Pola, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines.

Legend says that a long time ago, a fisherman saw a statue on the shore. The statue was identified later by the priest as the statue of St. John the Baptist and from then on it has become the town’s Patron Saint. Sab’uyan Festival takes place every June 24 in honor of the Patron Saint John the Baptist. The image is taken from the church and carried on procession to the sea where it was first found. It is accompanied by a band and set on a beautifully decorated big boat. The Sab’uyan begins. People in the boat throw seawater to one another chanting “Viva San Juan Bautista.” After the procession at sea, the image is carried around town. Dancers from various groups follow the image. The Sab’uyan continues. The splashing of water is received with good humor for the people believe that being doused brings good health, luck and happiness. The procession ends in the church plaza. Read More: http://www.localphilippines.com/events/sab%27uyan-festival-of-pola

Sanduguan Festival

Photo from: https://philippinestravelsite.com/april-festivals-philippines/

Sanduguan Festival, celebrated in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro revives the barter trade between the Mai natives and the Chinese traders. This week-long festivity features an agro-trade fair. There is a historical parade, re-enactment of the barter trading, and the Indakan sa Sanduguan, a street dancing competition. Considered as the biggest and the most innovative festival in the province, it also features art and historical contests, workshops, and contemporary and ethnic cultural shows. Read More: https://groupmindorawan.wordpress.com/2015/03/10/festivals/

Sayaw Lahi Festival

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Sayaw Lahi Festival, celebrated every September 10 in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, is a festival featuring all native dances performed on the streets by different schools and barangay communities. Other highlights are the school band competition, live-band concerts, and awarding of outstanding Naujenos. Read More: http://melleceducationalblog.blogspot.com/2017/11/mimaropa-festivals-oriental-mindoro.html

Sipag Festival

Photo from: https://wanderingang.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/oriental-mindoro-the-islands-loveliest-harbor/

Sipag Festival of Roxas is celebrated every 28th of July in Roxas, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. The municipality of Roxas serves as the center of trade and commerce in the southern part of Oriental Mindoro because of its bountiful products – palay and fruits like bananas, rambutan, lansones, mangoes, and aquatic harvests, and the different vegetables that abound in its farms. Sipag Festivals is basically a product festival featuring the various produce of the locality. S stands for saging (banana); I for isda (fish); P is for prutas (fruits); PA for palay; and G for gulay (vegetables). The term “sipag” embodies the industriousness and ingenuity of the people for which Roxas is proud of. Read More: http://www.localphilippines.com/events/sipag-festival-of-roxas

Sulyog Festival

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Sulyog Festival is an annual celebration of this municipality to thank the Almighty for the good harvest. We also aim to become “The Center of Organic Farming in Oriental Mindoro.”

With this celebration, we are showcasing the talents of Bongabongnenses and the core products of what Bongabong has to offer. Read More: https://www.facebook.com/bongabongmunicipality/posts/sulyog-festival-is-an-annual-celebration-of-this-municipality-to-thank-the-almig/1819388738301363/

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