Sibug - Sibug Festival ( Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay ) February 17 to 26

Sibug – Sibug Festival is celebrated during their foundation day on the province of Sibugay on February 26, with colorful Ethnic Street dancing with rituals illustrating good harvest, wedding and healing rituals. During the festival, it endorses it’s number one product which is the oyster or talaba in tagalong which has been known to be the biggest, juiciest, and meatiest oysters in the country. In this two week celebration, in the town of Ipil, “Talaba Longest Grill” has been the main attraction of the visitors and viewers. In this manner, Zamboanga can promote their oysters to the world. Zamboanga Sibugay recently achieved a world record for the Worlds Longest Talaba Grill with five to 12 inches-long oysters or talaba as the main feature. Because of this, the province of Sibugay earned a title as the Talaba Capital of the Philippines.

Zamboanga Sibugay is a major supplier of oysters from the Zamboanga Peninsula to neighboring countries in the Asia Pacific region. It has three major talaba farms in the municipalities of Kabasalan, Siay and Alicia.

A project of Gov. George Hofer, the longest oyster grill aims to make the province known worldwide for its export-quality oysters. Some 15,000 huge pieces of oysters weighing 1,500 kilograms from Barangay Concepcion, Kabasalan were served in the 1.2 kilometer-long grill. More than a thousand participants composed of local government employees, Sibugaynons and visitors joined the event which was part of the two-week-long Sibug-Sibug Festival held in the capital town of Ipil. Zamboanga Sibugay is a major supplier of oysters from the Zamboanga Peninsula to neighboring countries in the Asia Pacific region. It has three major talaba farms in the municipalities of Kabasalan, Siay and Alicia. Hofer said the oyster is one of the major economic boosters of the province. Around 200 families in Barangay Concepcion alone are dependent on the oyster business. Also a much-awaited event was the Sibug-Sibug street dancing competition.

Visitors were also given a glance of the locals culture and traditions through a Western Subanen cultural show. The native Subanens presented their rituals in war, marriage and birth. Subanens are the aborigines of Zamboanga, believed to have developed in the province even before the Spanish period. Zamboanga Sibugay was declared a separate province through a Republic Act in 2001. Local officials claimed that the province holds the record of having the lowest crime-rate based on the Philippine National Police (PNP) report for the period 2002-2003. The rubber business is its second income-generating industry next to the export of oysters. It has been recognized for having the oldest rubber plantation in the country. 

How to get there:
By Air: Fly to Zambaonga City,Pagadian,or Dipolog and take a bus to Ipil the capital of the province. There are a lot of bus companies that ply the route. From Pagadian City or Dipolog City it takes 3 to 4 hours. From Zamboanga City,it takes 3 to 3 1/2 hours. From Cagayan de Oro,buses also go to Ipil.  Sibugay Province has a public airport and two private airports. There are local charter flights that can be arranged from Cagayan de Oro or Zamboanga City.

ITIK-ITIK ( Pasig City ) last Sunday of February

The Itik-Itik Festival is a week long celebration that culminates every last Sunday of February in Brgy. Kalawaan in Pasig City. Itik is the Tagalog word for duck and the itik-itik is a dance where people move like ducks. A lot of colorful activities take place during this fiesta. A duck egg race, biggest duck egg contest, duck catching, swimming contest, best cooking duck receipt, dancing and of course a parade in honor of the barangay’s beloved patroness, St. Martha.The patroness of Barangay Kalawaan is St. Martha, considered the patron of cooks & washerwomen. For local people she is the patroness of duck-raisers. The fluvial procession is conducted with a pagoda carrying the image of Santa Martha stepping upon a crocodile. Her banca pulls another with a gigantic crocodile. On top of the crocodile is a bayani (hero) dancing while holding a bolo (sword).Legend has it that it was Santa Martha who was dancing on top of the crocodile.

Where: Barangay Kalawaan, Pasig City.

When: Week long celebration that culminates on the last Sunday of February.

My rating: 7/10

A fiesta organized by and for the inhabitants of Kalawaan. Don’t expect tourists. Lack of funds and money limits the activities. Small parade and fluvial procession. Unusual activities.

KALILANGAN General Santos City Fourth Week

 

General Santos City
Fourth Week

A celebration of the harmonious co-existence of numerous cultural and religious communities.

Town of Baler in Aurora Province Third Week

Town of Baler in Aurora Province
Third Week
 
The festival highlights the varied rice cake delicacies.

SAMBALILO (Parañaque Day) February 1 – 28

Araw ng Palanyag (Parañaque Day), February 15. Originally set on November 30, Araw ng Palanyag or Parañaque Day was moved to January 15 by the City Council to commemorate Parañaque's cityhood anniversary. Usually a week-long affair, the city-wide celebrations include such notable events as the Sambalilo Festival, Regatta de Palanyag, and the Komedya.

Komedya. Aside from being a highlight in the celebrations on the Feast of St. Dionisus, Araw ng Palanyag is also commemorated with stage plays called Komedyas or Moro-Moros where local actors and actresses called Komedyantes and Prinsesas take center stage and do choreographed swordfights and render long poetic verses. The stage plays change plots yearly and depicts 16th-17th century romance, religious conflicts, war, and peace. The Komedya was born in the classic community of San Dionisio. They gained national attention and acclaim when the Komedya garnered the top award in the Board of Travel (now Philippine Tourism Authority) - sponsored first Santacruzan Festival in 1958.
March - April

Semana Santa or Holy Week. Most Paraqueños are keen observers of the lenten season which falls between the months of March and April, just like the rest of most of the Christian world. However, the Parañaque folk, being a religious lot, observe such Lenten activities as Linggo ng Palaspas (Palm Sunday), Pasyon, Sinakulo which is a local version of the Via Crucis, and Salubong or Easter Vigil, with a fervent solemnity that may rarely be witnessed in other Catholic communities.

Linggo ng Palaspas or Domingo de Ramos starts off the Holy Week with the usual metaphorical rendition of Christ's entry into Jerusalem, with the congregation bringing their palm fronds to church so that they may be blessed; they would afterwards bring home the fronds and display them in their altars believing that these will aid in the plea for the forgiveness of sins and that they will bring blessings from above, keep illness away, and ward off evil. But ultimately, the fronds' main purpose is to serve as reminders of Christ’s passion and salvation.

Pasyon or Pabasa. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of the Holy Week is the time when the Pasyon or Pabasa, which is the chanting of the Savior’s life, passion, and death (as well as his Resurrection), is held. It is done in chapels and in residences by groups of community elders, usually 24 hours straight, with a peculiar melody which has been very much attached to the ceremony. Although the actual chanting is done by certain individuals shifting from time to time, such activities revolving around the Pasyon as refreshments, shift-scheduling, financing, and the like are accomplished with the complete cooperation of parishioners

SANTIAGO CITY ARTS MONTH (February 1 – 28)

SANTIAGO CITY ARTS MONTH (February 1 – 28)
Folk traditions in music, dance and play and a painting contest featuring home grown talents.

The Philippine National Anthem ( Lupang Hinirang )

Panagbenga ( Baguio City ) Fourth Week of February

Panagbenga is month-long annual flower festival  occurring in Baguio, the summer capital of the Philippines.[1]  The term is of Malayo-Polynesian origin, meaning "season of blooming".[1]  The festival, held during the month of February, was created as a tribute to the city's flowers and as a way to rise up from the devastation of the 1990 Luzon earthquake.[2]  The festival includes floats that are decorated with flowers unlike those used in Pasadena's Rose Parade. The festival also includes street dancing, presented by dancers clad in flower-inspired costumes, that is inspired by the Bendian, an Ibaloi dance of celebration that came from the Cordillera region.[3]

Aside from economic boosts from tourism, the festival also helped the younger generation of indigenous people to rediscover their culture's old traditions. The indigenous people was first wary with government-led tourism because of the threat that they will interfere or change their communities' rituals.[4]

Dia De Zamboanga ( Zamboanga City ) February 26

The foundation day of the city, on February 26, 1937, is a non working holiday and is observed by the people with special activities. There are several programs usually held; there are reenactments performed by various groups highlighting the important events in the city’s history; there are also colorful ceremonies marked by merry making, and speeches given by public officials, often announcing new projects aimed at further enhancing Zamboanga.

TAWO – TAWO ( Bayawan City ) February 17

 
Tawo-Tawo Festival wows visitors in Bayawan City.

DUMAGUETE CITY, Feb. 20 (PNA) -- The Tawo-Tawo Festival of Bayawan City, Negros Oriental has drawn scores of visitors from various parts of the province to watch the festival showdown and street dance held Thursday to celebrate the city's annual fiesta anniversary. Only four barangays of Bayawan City, namely Villareal, Tinago, Maninihon and Kalumboyan, competed in the Tawo-tawo Festival, said councilor Mark Dan Aurelia. Barangay Tinago romped off with the champion title, followed by barangays Villareal, Maninihon and Kalumboyan in that order. Aurelia said each of the contingent …

International Bamboo Organ Festival ten-day series of cultural events

International Bamboo Organ Festival is a ten-day series of cultural events that highlights the world famous Bamboo Organ created by Fray Diego de la Cera in 1824. The instrument's deep and melodious sound has been a local attraction of its original home at St. Joseph Church of the Parish of Las Piñas, Metro Manila.

During the month of February, Las Piñas gathers the best of its local musicians and international performers to play classic and contemporary pieces with the bamboo organ. During the performances donations are accepted, but are available to the public free of charge. The event also highlights the performance of the award-winning Bamboo Organ choir, the Las Piñas Boys' Choir.

Tinagba ( Bicol ) February 11

Tinagba Festival is a harvest-offering celebration which also coincides on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Farmers parade in carabao-drawn carts filled with the best of local produce, these are blessed at mass and are distributed to the needy. This feast originated from the early rituals of ancient Bicolanos who offered their harvest to their Gods as a way of thanksgiving and to ask more bountiful harvest.

An ancient Bicolano first-harvest offering, Tinagba Festival is a reenactment held every February 11 coinciding with the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The festival features a caravan of bull carts decorated gaily and fully laden with fresh farm products. It also features revelers in Mardi-gras and native costumes dancing and parading around the city streets ending at the Grotto for the offering.

San Fernando, La Union ( La Union ) February 7 to 10

San Fernando City celebrates its annual fiesta in honor of Saint William the Hermit every month of February. There are various religious activities being held like National Bible celebration, thanksgiving mass, Parish Pastoral Night and a Fiesta Mass. Other highlights include sports activities (boxing, mountain bike/BMX race kicked off), social and cultural activities (acrobatic shows, disabled persons program, field demonstration of schools, dog show, bingo socials, band concert, and more), grand civic and military parade, agricultural trade fair and beauty and talent searches.

LAOAG CITY AND PROVINCE (Pamulinawen) Laoag City, February 7 to 10

Laoag City is a 1st class city in the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines.

Laoag means "the place of light or clarity" in Ilokano. Laoag City had been a known progressive settlement to Japanese and Chinese traders, until the time when Juan de Salcedo, as Spanish conquistador, set foot at the northern banks of Padsan River in 1572.

 In 1580, according to the national archieves date, Laoag was organized. The Augustinian missionaries established the Roman Catholic church and designated St. William the Hermit as its patron saint, the same saint whose feast is celebrated on the 10th of February each year.

The Malay immigrants to the Philippines came in about 300 to 200 B.C. These immigrants were less civilized. The Malays, who were the ancestors of the Igorots, Ifugaos, Bontocs, and Tinguian of Northern Luzon. The second group of Malay immigrants came after the Christian Era at about first century A.D. and continued through the next centuries until the 13th century.

When the Spaniards found the Philippine Islands, they found out that the natives were already divided into community groups with their own independent government. The "barangay" or "puroc" was the center of the population, that reaches up to 6,000. Their native houses are made up of cogon and bamboo and built compactly and are arranged around the hill known as "Ermita Hill" located at the southeastern section of what is now known as Laoag, near the banks of Padsan River.

Before the end of the 16th century, missionaries improved the living condition of the natives. Missionaries resettled the inhabitants of Ermita Hill to the center of the community of Laoag. They laid out a rectangle, where they constructed a plaza, a church, a convent, a tower, a tribunal and other important buildings accessible to the natives. They built houses in an arranged manner within the reach of the church bell. The poblacion was divided into different barrios and named after the patron saint assigned to them.

Laoag City obtained its cityhood in June 19, 1965, throuhg a plebiscite, leaving its municipal status. It was also proclaimed as the capital of Ilocos Norte.

Laoag City is a second class city situated at coordinates 18deg11'N and 120deg35'E in the west central area of the province of Ilocos Norte, near the South China Sea. It is approximately 488 kilometers, or 10 to 14 hours away, from Manila. It has a total land area of 12,747.35 square meters, politically subdivided into 80 barangays. Aside from being the province's capital city, it is also the political, commercial, and industrial center. It is bounded by the municipalities of San Nicolas, Paoay, Sarrat, Vintar and Bacarra, as well as the foothills of the Cordillera Central mountain range and the South China Sea.

In the year 2000, the city has a total population of 94,400, with Barangay San Lorenzo having the largest number of residents. It is remarkable to note that, unlike most Christian parts of the country, the Roman Catholic church does not dominate here. Instead, the Aglipayan Church, Iglesia ni Cristo and other Protestant groups have more number of disciples.

As to Laoag's economy, rice, corn, sugar, and tobacco are the principal products for export to other countries. It is also the heart of the fast developing North Luzon Economic Triangle. The city is a strategic area to the economic center of East Asia. It is reachable in 45 minutes by plane from Hongkong, and 30 minutes away from the port of Kaohsiung City of Taiwan. The Laoag International Airport and Currimao Port make Laoag the port entry of goods and services with extensive roads and highways that connect it to other cities. The city has an extensive banking system with 25 local, domestic and foreign banks ready to serve any financial needs.

Laoag is the heart of social and economic activity, where major commercial and institutional establishments flock the city. The local government and private sectors give more importance to education and invested much in the development of the academic infrastructures. The government-owned lower level schools are divided into three districts, with a total of 33 primary and elementary schools and 7 private elementary schools, most of which are sectarian and managed by religious organizations. There are 8 private and 3 public high schools. To provide a continuing education, there are several colleges and universities in operation that offers degrees in special areas.

Presently, two public institutions are operational, with five private colleges and universities that offers programs from 2 year associate degrees to doctoral degrees. Laoag also has four private special vocational schools.

Tourism has become an economic source of Laoag City, thus making way for new commercial investments and infrastructure developments. Recently, there has been a new abridged procedure for immigration for easier entrance of Chinese tourists into the country. This is expected to yield more visitors in the country. The government of Ilocos Norte anticipates the progression of tourism industry in the area, hence the construction of a multi-million dollar convention center and hotel to meet the needs of the industry.

The city certainly has good reasons why the tourism industry should be well supported. Aside from good investment opportunities, Laoag City has plenty of aids to educate one about the colorful history of the country. The Sinking Bell Tower, St. William Cathedral, Ilocos Norte Capitol, the Tobacco Monopoly Monument, the Ilocos Lighthouse, the Bangui Windmills, the Ilocos Norte Museum, the Marcos Mansion and the Fort Ilocandia Resort and Hotel (the only five star hotel in northern Philippines) are all worthwhile mementos of the country's past. Added to these tourist attractions are modern venues of typical vacation spots, like the La Paz Sand Dunes, Pagudpud White Sand Beaches, the Casino Filipino, and the 18-hole Golf Course designed by Gary Player.

There are also numerous mountains, rivers, and waterfalls which have been proven by visitors in the past decades to be wonderful venues for trekking, eco-tourism adventures and sports.

Of course, no place in the Philippines would be complete without its own festivals. For this category, Laoag City offers the famous Pamulinawen Festival, held on the feast of St. William every 10th of February and showcases floral and dance parades, and the December Festival, which involves lantern parades and competitions, Christmas dressing up and Palarong Pamasko, or Christmas sportsfest. All these truly make Laoag City a place worth visiting.

Festival of Hearts ( Month Long ) Tanjay City

Tanjay City

Major festival of romance to highlight Valentine’s Day.

The fiesta is part and bundle of Filipino culture.  Each city and barrio has at least one local festival  of its own, usually on the feast  of its patron saint, so that there is always a fiesta going on somewhere in the country. But the major and most elaborate festival of all is Christmas, a season celebrated with all the display and show the fun-loving Filipino can handle.

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Philippine Universities & Colleges

Adamson University www.adamson.edu.ph Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS) www.aiias.edu AMA Computer College www.amaes.edu.ph Angeles University www.auf.edu.ph Aquinas University, Albay www.aq.edu.ph/ Arellano University, Pasay www.arellano.edu.ph Asian Institute of Management www.aim.edu.ph Asia Pacific College www.apc.edu.ph Assumption College www.assumption.edu.ph Ateneo de Davao University www.addu.edu.ph Ateneo de Manila University www.admu.edu.ph Ateneo de Naga University www.adnu.edu.ph Ateneo de Zamboanga www.adzu.edu.ph Ateneo Graduate School of Business, Makatigsb.ateneo.edu Aurora State College of Technology ascot.edu.ph Baguio Central University (formerly Lyceum of Baguio) Benguet State University www.bsu.edu.ph Bicol University www.bicol-u.edu.ph Bukidnon State University bsc.edu.ph Calayan Educational Foundation www.cefi.edu.ph Cavite State University www.cvsu.edu.ph Cebu Doctors' University www.cebudoctorsuniversity.edu Cebu Normal University www.cvis.net.ph/cnu Central Colleges of the Philippines www.ccp.edu.ph Central Philippine University www.cpu.edu.ph Centro Escolar University (CEU) www.ceu.edu.ph Chiang Kai Shek College www.cksc.edu.ph Colegio de Kidapawan www.cdk.edu.ph Colegio de San Juan de Letran www.letran.edu Colegio de Santa Isabel www.santaisabel.edu.ph College of Saint Benilde www.dls-csb.edu.ph College of the Holy Spirit www.holyspirit.edu.ph Davao Doctors College (DDC) www.davaodoctors.edu.ph Davao Medical School Foundation (DMSF)www.dmsf.edu.ph De La Salle University, Manila www.dlsu.edu.ph De La Salle University, Dasmarinas, Cavitewww.dasma.dlsu.edu.ph De La Salle University Health Sciences Campus (DLSU)www.hsc.dlsu.edu.ph De Ocampo Memorial College Divine Word University, Tacloban www.dwu.edu.ph Eastern Visayas State University www.evsu.edu.ph Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) www.eac.edu.ph Far Eastern University www.feu.edu.ph Feati University, Manila featiu.edu.ph Filamer Christian College www.filamer.edu.ph Gregorio Araneta University www.araneta.dlsu.edu.ph Holy Angel University www.hau.edu.ph Informatics Computer Institute www.informatics.edu.ph International School Manila www.ismanila.com JE Mondejar Computer College www.mondejar.edu Jose Rizal Memorial State College www.jrmsc.edu.ph Jose Rizal University, Mandaluyong www.jru.edu.ph La Concordia College concordia.dcphilippines.org Leyte State University (formerly Visayas State College)www.lsu-visca.edu.ph Lorma Colleges www.lorma.edu/ Lyceum of The Philippines www.lyceumphil.edu.ph Manila Central University www.mcu.edu.ph Mapua Institute of Technology www.mapua.edu.ph Mariano Marcos State University www.dmmmsu.edu.ph Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific Kamaya Pointwww.maap.edu.ph Mindanao Polytechnic State College www.mpsc.ph Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology www.msuiit.edu.ph Miriam College (formerly Maryknoll) www.mc.edu.ph Mountain Province State Polytechnic College Misamis University www.mu.edu.ph National College Business and Arts (NCBA) ncba.edu.ph National Defense College of the Philippines ndcp.edu.ph

National University (NU) www.nu.edu.ph Negros Oriental State University www.norsu.edu.ph New Era University www.neu.edu.ph North Negros College www.nncollege.com Notre Dame University, Mindanao www.ndmu.edu.ph Palawan State University www.psu.itgo.com Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila www.plm.edu.ph Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig www.plp.edu.ph Pampanga Agricultural College www.instanet.com.ph/pac Pangasinan State University www.psu-main.edu.ph PATTS College of Aeronautics www.patts.edu.ph Philippine Christian University (PCU) www.pcu.edu.ph Philippine Military Academy (PMA) www.pma.ph Philippine Normal University www.pnu.edu.ph Philippine School of Business Administration (PSBA)www.psba.edu Philippine Women's University (PWU) www.pwu.edu.ph Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP)www.pup.edu.ph Rizal Technological University www.rtu.edu.ph San Beda College www.sanbeda.edu.ph San Carlos Seminary San Carlos University, Cebu www.usc.edu.ph San Pablo Colleges College of Physical Therapywww.spcpt.mainpage.net San Sebastian College, Manila www.sscrmnl.edu.ph Saint Louis University, Baguio (SLU) www.slu.edu.ph Silliman University, Dumaguete www.su.edu.ph St. Paul University Manila, Quezon City, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Surigao, Philippines www.spusystem.edu.ph St. Scholastica's College www.ssc.edu.ph/indexmain.html St. Theresa's College, Cebu www.stc.edu.ph System Technology Institute (STI) www.sti.edu.ph Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP)www.tip.edu.ph Technological University of the Philippineswww.tup.edu.ph Trinity University of Asia (Trinity College) tua.edu.ph Union Christian College www.ucc.edu.ph University of Asia and the Pacific www.uap.edu.ph University of Baguio www.ubaguio.edu University of Bohol www.universityofbohol.com University of Batangas www.ub.edu.ph University of Cebu www.uc.edu.ph University of Eastern Philippines uep.educ.ph University of Northern Philippines, Vigan, Ilocos Surwww.unp.edu.ph University of Perpetual Help www.perpetualdalta.edu.ph University of the Cordilleras (formerly Baguio Colleges Foundation) www.uc-bcf.edu.ph/home/ University of the East (U.E.), Caloocanonline.ue.edu.ph/caloocan/ University of the East (U.E.), Manila www.ue.edu.ph University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center (UERM) www.uerm.edu University of the Immaculate Conception www.uic.edu.ph University of the Philippines, Diliman Q.C.diliman.up.edu.ph University of the Philippines, Los Baños www.uplb.edu.ph University of the Philippines, Manila www.upm.edu.ph University of the Philippines, Visayas www.upv.edu.ph University of Manila www.um.edu.ph University of Mindanao (UM) www.umindanao.edu.ph University of Regina Carmeli, Bulacan www.urc.edu.ph University of San Agustin, Iloilo www.usa.edu.ph University of San Jose-Recoletos, Cebu usjr.edu.ph University of Santo Tomas (UST) ww.ust.edu.ph University of Southeastern Philippines www.usep.edu.ph University of Southern Mindanao www.usm.edu.ph University of St. La Salle, Bacolod www.usls.edu West Visayas State University www.wvsu.edu.ph Western Mindanao State University www.wmsu.edu.ph Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan www.xu.edu.ph

Feast of Our Lady of the Candles, Jaro, Iloilo City

Feast of Our Lady of the Candles, Jaro, Iloilo City

Our Lady of the Candles or Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria is known internationally as the Candlemas Virgin. It was the title given to Our Blessed Virgin Mary in commemoration of the Presentation of Jesus and Mary’s own rite of Purification according to Jewish Law.

According to the Mosaic law a mother who had given birth to a man-child was considered unclean for seven days; moreover she was to remain three and thirty days “in the blood of her purification”; for a maid-child the time which excluded the mother from sanctuary was even doubled. When the time (forty or eighty days) was over the mother was to “bring to the temple a lamb for a holocaust and a young pigeon or turtle dove for sin”; if she was not able to offer a lamb, she was to take two turtle doves or two pigeons; the priest prayed for her and so she was cleansed. (Leviticus 12:2-8)

Forty days after the birth of Christ, Mary complied with this precept of the law, she redeemed her first-born from the temple (Numbers 18:15), and was purified by the prayer of Simeon the just, in the presence of Anna the prophetess (Luke 2:22 sqq.). No doubt this event, the first solemn introduction of Christ into the house of God, was in the earliest times celebrated in the Church of Jerusalem. We find it attested for the first half of the fourth century by the pilgrim of Bordeaux, Egeria or Silvia. The day (14 February) was solemnly kept by a procession to the Constantinian basilica of the Resurrection, a homily on Luke 2:22 sqq., and the Holy Sacrifice. But the feast then had no proper name; it was simply called the fortieth day after Epiphany. This latter circumstance proves that in Jerusalem Epiphany was then the feast of Christ’s birth.

From Jerusalem the feast of the fortieth day spread over the entire Church and later on was kept on the 2nd of February, since within the last twenty-five years of the fourth century the Roman feast of Christ’s nativity (25 December) was introduced. In Antioch it is attested in 526 (Cedrenue); in the entire Eastern Empire it was introduced by the Emperor Justinian I (542) in thanksgiving for the cessation of the great pestilence which had depopulated the city of Constantinople.

Today, in the Philippines, the observance of the Feast of Our Lady of Candles (Nuestra Senora dela Candelaria) is one of the most granduous religious event in Western Visayas. The celebration of the festival of Our Lady is a blessing through procession of candles followed by a pageantry with the fiesta queen around the district of Jaro. The annual religious festival highlights agro-industrial exhibits, garden show, fiesta carnivals, concerts, contests, among many others. Iloilo people believe that the celebration of the feast symbolizes the prosperity of the city and the enjoyment of Filipino over grand fiesta and celebrations. One of the highlights of this celebration is cockfighting . A blood sport between two gamecocks especially bred and condition for the fight held at Iloilo Coliseum.

Hot Air Balloon ( Clark Special Economic Zone ) Early February

Clark Hot Air Balloon

CLARK FREEPORT - 11-25-08 - According to the Tourism and Promotions Office of the Clark Development Corporation (CDC), 2009 will see even more balloons and countries participating in the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival than in 2008. At this point, it looks as if 25 countries will be joining this event, which seems to be growing by leaps and bounds each year and becoming more like a major air show than a hot air balloon event.

In 2008, only 19 balloons were flown from 13 countries; with the increased publicity of this event worldwide and on the internet, and the growing popularity of the event with Filipinos, Clark could have significantly more balloons than ever in the air this year. The scheduled date is set for February 12 to 15 th of 2009. The organizers are in the beginning phases of planning for this Philippines mega event, we will post the schedule here when it is available.

For 2009, well over 100,000 spectators are expected to attend five days of fun in the skies, or as CDC refers to it: “the weekend of everything that flies.” This event is currently scheduled to be held in its usual location where the large hanger is visible from the main entrance road, designated as the Clark Civil Aviation Complex, right alongside the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport.

The associated events, as last year, are sure to be additionally inspiring. CDC seems to want to grow this event to ever-increasing heights of excellence. You can be sure that the show will be bigger and better than ever for 2009, bringing greater levels of exposure to the Freeport in order to further promote business and leisure investment in the area.

The CDC is looking to grow the Clark region, not only internationally, but as a major Filipino destination of tourism and relaxation. For this event and all subsequent events in Clark, the area will become even more easily assessable from Manila. With the completion of the SCTEX this year, and the soon completion of the new SCTEX Clark Interchange in December, you will be able to exit directly into the Freeport from the highways, only a couple Kilometers from the entrance of the balloon festival. If you have attended the Balloon Fiesta in previous years or have been to the Clark Freeport, you know that the last few kilometers are the most frustrating as you exit NLEX to pass through the intense traffic in Dau and Angeles City to the Clark Main gate; sometimes taking as long as an additional 30 minutes. That will soon be a thing of the past and make the balloon festival and Clark in general, an even more pleasant destination.

This years balloon festival is lining-up to be the greatest ever, and it will be easier to attend then ever before. So, if you have never been to this mega event, or if you wait anxiously each year to see the myriad of balloons and other demonstration aircraft and exhibits, then make your advanced hotel reservation plans now as the Freeport is sure to become booked-out very quickly and in advance for this event.

2010 PHILIPPINE INTERNATIONAL HOT AIR BALLOON FIESTA DETAILS


Note: The above schedule is from the official Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Association. Clark Subic Marketing makes no claims or guarantees as to its accuracy. This schedule is subject to change without notice.

 

DIRECTIONS TO CLARK FREEPORT

Getting to the Clark Freeport Zone, otherwise known as the Clark Special Economic Zone by car is easy. Simply needs to take the North Luzon Expressway from Manila and exit at Dau, Mabalacat. After your exit, a left turn towards Angeles City, and a little Angeles City/Dau traffic, will bring you to within an easy right turn of the Clark Zone itself. The trip should take about an hour and a half from Manila without heavy traffic.