Festivals Around Caliraya Lake
Festivals Around Caliraya Lake
Calendar Of Festival Events
Three Kings Celebration
January 2 – 6 | Mabitac
This particular event which naturally attended not only by the local individuals of this town, but also by the other people from nearby towns. This serves as the continuation on celebrating Christmas and shows the true spirit of gift-giving. This event has a parade of the selected beautiful women holding wooden horses, which they called “Kabesillas”. The Three Kings that are role played by the young boys riding on the horses. There is also Santa Claus that gives gifts for the children and young angels accompanied with the lively band after the mass inviting anyone to taste the famous “kalamay” and other food delicacies prepared by the locals there. The very highlight of this festival is on its last day, which is what they so-called “Pasabog ng Biyaya” naturally led by the Mayor with other officials of the Municipality.
Other festival/major event in Mabitac, Laguna aside from the Three Kings Celebration, is the “Araw ng Mabitac”.
San Pablo Coconut Festival
January 10 – 15 | San Pablo City
Coconut is one of the primary products of the City of San Pablo in Laguna. The Coconut Festival, having its maiden year on January, 1996, the coco fest is held during the celebration of the city’s patron saint, Saint Paul the First Hermit, which falls every 15th of January. It is a week-long celebration with cultural presentations featuring different schools, organizations and barangays. One of the most awaited events during this celebration is the Coronation Ball of the Mutya ng San Pablo. A Foodfair and Exhibits is also a part of the festivities where the water treasures of San Pablo is cooked in coconut milk. The highlight of the celebration is the Street Dancing or Mardigras where the participants donned in costumes decorated with materials from coconut. This also includes the parade of floats decorated with coconut materials as well.
Batingaw Festival
January 16 | Cabuyao
The Batingaw Festival commemorates the legendary “Kampanang Ginto” which Cabuyao is known. The celebration always starts with the simultaneous ringing of church bells, which believes, bring good agricultural harvest. Highlights of the five-day festival includes the colorful street dancing, singing contest, trade fair exhibits & fireworks.
Sikyahan Festival
January 18 | Santa Rosa City
The town people were largely dependent in basic agriculture and family own enterprises for livelihood. The characteristics of the people being masikap make the town progressive and a town with peace, loving, trustworthy & industrious people called “Rosenian”. The other event in this city, aside from this festival, is the “Santa Rosa Expo”.
Feast of San Sebastian The Martyr
19th of the month of January and the following Sunday | Lumban
The traditional procession is observed at the Lumban River, where the Icon of the Patron Saint San Sebastian, together with hundreds of devotees are a float on a bunch of big boats, which they called “Kaskitos”, holding a light candle doing ritual turn across the river, participating are some civic and religious organizations and groups of bands in the locality.
Sampaguita Festival
February 22 | San Pedro
A week long festival which includes various activities ranging from cultural to sports, trade fairs, amateur singing contest, parades, historical exhibits, social and religious gatherings, tribal dance and sports exhibitions. The highlight of the festival is the Coronation Night of the “Hiyas ng San Pedro”. The festival aims to promote tourism in San Pedro and to promote and revitalize Sampaguita industry in the locality.
Pandan Festival (Feast of San Isidro)
April 3 | Luisiana
It is a five-day celebration, which started in 1998 culminating on the 3rd day of April of each year, the Independence Day of the Municipality. The whole celebration revolves around the pandan plant and its products like bags, hats, mats and other novelty items. The festivities include beauty pageant, inter-barangay activities, parade contest with street dancing with the theme of Pandan, night dancing and many more.
Bangkero Festival
April 6 -10 | Pagsanjan
A festival that last up to five days opens with Best Bangka Presentation, Best Float and Street Dancing. This activity is a contest for decorated boats and floats being paraded through the town’s main thoroughfare while the street dancing is a parade of students from different schools donned in colorful and attractive costumes swaying to the beat of upbeat music.
The Bangkero Festival was conceptualized in honor of the people who has worked hard to present the world their hometown’s natural wonder. The festival offers additional event like, palo-sebo, tug-of-war (river), relay and marathon, trade fair, cultural shows, various contests and competitions. The highlight of the festival is the fluvial parade, street dancing and the decorated Bantilan and Gantungan.
Turumba Festival
Starts every Friday after Palm Sunday | Pakil
One of the most celebrated religious festivals in the country is the Turumba festival in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows – Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Turumba. Based on research the original framed Image of the Virgin is the picture of the Virgin of Sorrows with the name “Virgin de Las Antiguas”. This is now the Image placed in a special nook at the Church Altar,
the same image exulted in the Turumba festival during the “Lupi Season” in the months of March and April.
Karakol Festival
April 21 | Calamba City
A banga festival held on April 21 in the advent of the 1st Cityhood Anniversary of Calamba. There were street dance and parade of banga, participated by the young and old alike. This is a display of creative talents in dancing. The best among the participants were given awards & recognition.
Baraka Festival with Rosas ng Santa Rosa
April 23 – 30 | Santa Rosa City
A festival and a trade fair featuring product of Santa Rosa have been known for. Merkado, palengke or pamilihan organized by Santa Rosa Tourism Council and Medical Society of Sta. Rosa and Rotary Center.
Liliw Gat Tayaw Festival, much popularly known as Tsinelas Festival, April 27 – May 1 | Liliw
The highlight of the festival is the street dancing where participants are in attractive, multi-colored bird costume utilizing local materials. Liliweños are celebrating this event in honor of Gat Tayaw, the founder of Liliw. Colorful events from day to day activities include a parade of floats featuring the agricultural & industrial products of Liliw, a parade of bird mascots reminding the people of the origin of the name Liliw, Katutubong Palaro, Gabi ng Harana, musical, arts and painting contests, Search for “Mutya ng Liliw”, and the Gawad Parangal for outstanding Liliweños.
Keso Festival
Month of April | Santa Cruz
In celebration of the town’s quadricentennial as a municipality in April, 2002, the Keso Festival came into existence. Kesong Puti is an authentic Filipino cheese which originated from Laguna. It is made from the freshest carabao’s milk and is made hard using a coagulating agent- either vinegar or rennet, the part of the cow’s stomach. A small amount of salt is added to give it added flavor.
It is said that kesong puti originated from Santa Cruz, the reason why the municipal officials put up a festival in its honor. The festival showcased parade participated in by the town’s officials and employees, candidates of Mutya ng Sta. Cruz
pageant and members of civic and business groups and is made gay by jubilant street dancing. The nine-day celebration featured different native products of Laguna as well. Other events in laguna aside from Keso Festival are the National Arts Month, and the Anilag Festival.
Calauan “Pinya” Festival
May 10 -15 | Calauan
The festival aims to promote pineapple & other agricultural products of Calauan. It features cultural presentation and exhibits performances, mardi grass, street dancing, pineapple float parade, pineapple and native products décor contest. The Pinya Festival started in May, 2003 as the highlight in the celebration of the town’s fiesta, the feast of San Isidro Labrador. The festivities include Trade Fair Exhibit, Nightly Cultural Presentations, Culinary Contest, Search for Binibining Calauan, Grand Float Parade and Mardigras Street Dancing.
Trade Fair Exhibit features the town’s local products, most of them products made out of pineapple such as delicacies and the pinya cloth- textile wove from pinya leaves and is the cloth used for the Philippine’s native attire, the barong. Nightly Cultural presentations showcase talents of the youth as they belted out songs and present dance numbers. The Culinary Contest is a cookfest wherein original recipes’ main ingredient is the pinya. The celebration will not be complete without the float parade, with beautiful floats representing each of the town’s barangay, and the much awaited Mardigras Street Dancing Competition with different schools competing with the students wearing colorful costumes.
Ahunan Sa Mount Ping-As
Last Sunday of May | Pakil
The yearly celebration of Ahunan sa Pingas is held every last Saturday of May. To climb the Pingas Mountain, it is a zigzag or winding road and path about one-and-a-half kilometer from the poblacion to the cross. To ease the fatigue in going up there are 14 stations of the Cross where short prayers are recited thus providing a short rest to each one. From the top of
Mt. Pingas can be seen the panoramic view of Lake Laguna de Bae and the surrounding hills and forest. This tradition originated in memory of a Franciscan Priest Francisco Solier who, as a way of penance, used to carry a wooden cross to this mountain about the year 1671. At the summit of the mountain facing the poblacion can be seen a concrete 35 feet high and at the foot of this is a concrete chapel surrounded by several concrete steps.
Rizal Day
June 19 | Calamba
The Rizal Day in the town of Calamba in the Province of Laguna, Philippines, celebrated every 19th Day of June of each year.
This particular event exists in the honor to the date of birth of our National Hero and Great Person Dr. Jose Rizal. The Ube Festival is the other event that celebrated here in Calamba.
Araw ng Pila
July 26 – 29 | Pila
Araw ng Pila is a week long commemorative celebration which includes a various activities ranging from cultural to sports, trade fairs, amateur singing contest, dance contest, social and religous gatherings and street dance exhibitions. This particular event aims to promote tourism and camaraderie in the locality. The highlights is the “Regodon De Honor”, wherein the participants wore a “Mestiza” dress for women and Barong Tagalog for men.
Guiling-Guiling Festival
August 26 | Siniloan
Guiling-guiling was born out of an anecdote when in a last Friday of August in the year 1583, a group of Spaniards passed by a rice field where some women are grinding rice with use of grindstone or “gilingang bato”. The Spaniards mispronounced the “nanggigiling” is “guiling-guiling”.
Kalakal Festival
September 26 – 30 | Santa Maria
Kalakal Festival is focus on the development of Santa Maria through Agriculture. The festival is geared on the promotion of economic development through marketing assistance to agricultural sector not only from local but also nearby agricultural municipalities and provinces.
Bañamos Festival
September 14 -18 | Los Baños
Bañamos is an annual festival that is truly unique to Los Baños. It showcases a shower of nature’s bounties and scientific discoveries. This is a kind of celebration that will appropriately trace the Los Baños’ history & explain its current standing as “the Science and Nature City. It features civic parade, street dancing, beauty pageant, the Los Baños Science Community open house and exhibits, Mt. Makiling eco-challenge, palarong pinoy, buco pie fest, sayawang bayan and other events. The War of Our Fathers, Los Baños Flower and Garden Show, UP Los Baños, Orchid and Garden Show are the other major events celebrated here in Los Baños.
Burdang Lumban Festival
3rd week of September | Lumban
It is a celebration of Lumban’s artistry and history through fun and relevance. It aims to highlight the town’s unique cultural articulation and people’s initiatives while underscoring the interfaced visions of the local government units and the civil society. Festival highlights are Bazaar sa Lumban, Timpalak ng Galing sa Pagbuburda, Paseo at Pasayaw sa Kalye, Parada ng Baro at Saya and many more.
Kabukiran Festival
September 29 – October 2 | Majayjay
Kabukiran Festival is a celebration of the founding anniversary of Majayjay. It features the different farm products that are available in the forty barangays composing the municipality. The most beautiful women in this place from which the “Miss Kabukiran” will be chosen are presenting every barangay. The three day festival every September also features old games and dances participated by the young and old, amateur contest and street dancing participated by different public and private schools in colorful costumes.
Ana Kalang Festival
every 3rd week of the September, starts Wednesday to Sunday | Nagcarlan
An annual event started in 1987, this festival aim to promote agricultural produce of the municipality who’s vying to become the vegetable bowl of Southern Tagalog. It feature “pinaka” contest the biggest agri-produce, cultural presentation, exhibit of local antiques collections, arch making contest, kalang-kalang (giant scarecrow) contest, cooking contest, sports contest (laro ng lahi), Barangay night, beauty contest (Ms. Ana Kalang) and the Grand Parade on its last day with street dancing contest.
Originally held during the early weeks of October, the festival includes school bands exhibition, folk games, search for the Princess and Queen of the Festival, cultural presentations of students and local organizations, and the town parade.
Nownearing its ninth year, the festival, which was first held in 1987, had changes made for the betterment of its celebration. One of these is changing its schedule, now celebrated in the time for the semestral break of the students, and including more activities and presentations. Among the latter year inclusions are the Kusina ni Ana Kalang, Pamana ng Lahi, Hiyas ng Nayon organized town tours, Paligsahan ng Pabitin and the colorful Street Dancing.
Founding Anniversary of Our Lady of Turumba
September 18 | Pakil
On this festival there will be a weeklong display and demonstration of fantasy woodcarving, shaving and whittling by which this town is frequently visited by tourists and other visitors. There will be an open house for paintings of a Pakil painter who is nationally known. The town’s Young Painters Group will exhibit also their paintings reflective of their native talents in this art. Booths shall be constructed to house selected products of agricultural farming, home industries and handicraft, dressmaking, food preserving, and others. One main attraction of this cultural affair is the interpretative dancing of the Turumba Music by different groups and organizations, each in their chosen costumes. Competitive native games shall also be an interesting cultural presentation to be participated in by children and adults.
Orchid and Garden Show
1st sunday of October | Los Baños
Laguna consider these garden shows among the hits of major tourist attractions and destinations. It is a showcase of local products, especially the exotic and newest species of orchids in the province. Not only bring local and international visitors to scenic and beautiful resorts in Laguna. Most of the guests also purpose to see a glimpse of Laguna’s floriculture industry.
Coramblan Festival
October 4 -12 | Alaminos
A nine-day festivity in honor of Nuestra Señora Del Pilar, our Patron Saint. The festival includes religious activities such as novena, clutural shows held every night participated by public and private schools, NGO’s and GO’s supported by the Local government. A trade fair is also organized which aims to promote the different products produced by our fifteen barangays.
The highlight of this festival is our Coramblan Festival, a stret dancing competition and performances from the different schools promoting our COconut-RAMButan-LANzones which are the major products produced in the municipality of Alaminos.
Market By The Lake
October 29 | San Pablo City
The festival aims to make San Pablo City a tourism destination for local and foreign tourists through its famous and attractive Seven Lakes and also to promote the products and services offered by San Pableños. The market by the lake is in cooperation with Department of Trade and Industry and San Pablo City Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The five-day affair is highlighted by exhibits of the city’s existing business offerings as well as of neighboring towns, food courts at night time complete with live bands and daily cultural contests.
Itik Festival
November 13 -15 | Victoria
Itik is the main product of the town of Victoria in Laguna. This small, bustling town is the center of the duck industry in the province. In this regard, on the occasion of its 52nd year as a municipality, the local government launched the Itik Festival on November, 2002. Now on its fourth year, the 3-day festival includes free dental and medical clinic for the constituents, trade and jobs fair, nightly musical variety show, motor and car show, wall painting, chess tournament and volleyball championship on its 1st day. The 2nd day celebration includes activities such as the Irish Bikathon and the Gay Sports Fest.
The culmination of the celebration is the much awaited Duck Fest which is participated in by all of the 9 barangays constituting the town. The event will not be complete without the colorful and boisterous Street Dancing and Float Parade participated in by the local officials, students and members of different civic organizations of the town. The parade starts at Barangay Masapang where a giant duck monument is located going towards the town center. A search for Miss Victoria is also held and to make the occasion even more shining, a fireworks display to culminate it.
Bandana Festival
December 18 | Pangil
A religious festival honoring the Nuestra Señora de la O and Sto. Niño de la O. According to legend, the town’s men folk, wearing their traditional headdresses (BANDANA), together with the other inhabitants joyously welcomed the statues in the town of Pencil. The highlight of the festival is the street dancing where in colorful bandanas participants will display.
