The Pahiyas Festival is celebrated annually on May 15 in Lucban, Quezon. Through this festival, the Lucbanins pay homage to San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers, for an abundant harvest. Because of its creative and lavish display of harvests and homegrown products and its friendly and unique competitions, Pahiyas has been recognized by the Department of Tourism as a certified cultural heritage site and a promising tourist destination. The Pahiyas Festival is a true affirmation of Filipino ingenuity.
During the festival, the most anticipated part of the event is the Timpalak Pahiyas, in which households compete against each other by creatively decorating the façades of their homes, making use of kiping, harvested vegetables and fruits, rice grains or stalks, buntal hats, and other native products. Kiping looks like crepe paper but in fact is an edible rice paper made out of ground rice flour. It normally takes the form of a leaf. This year, aside from the Gantimpalang Timpalak Pahiyas Award, a cash prize of P60,000 was given to the grand winner. An additional attraction to the Timpalak Pahiyas was the Kutitap at night, in which the competing households set up lights to highlight their artistic presentations even more, thus adding a Christmas-like feel to the festivities.
Another certified head-turner of the festival is the parade, drawing a huge crowd of tourists, media, photography hobbyists, and locals alike. The parade is an exhibition of the unquestionable inventiveness of the Lucbanins, which includes an incomparable presentation of carts and karosas decorated resourcefully and a fashion show of genuine creations from Lucbanin designers.
For the shopping tourist, Tiyangge sa Lucban is another annual must-see. Several tiyangges sell diverse native Lucban offerings, such as local food products (longganiza, broas or lady fingers, puto seko, apas) and souvenir and handicraft items (buntal hats, bags, Pahiyas shirts, accessories).
Lucbanins know how to party, of course, judging from the Concepcion Street concert. The deafening sound of music and festivities contributed in a large way to the excitement and enthusiasm of the crowd.
Although the Pahiyas experience is colorful and enriches our pride in being Pinoy, travel plans gone awry may put a dampener on the festivities. In case you’re planning to go next year, it’s a good idea to keep the following in mind when you head to Lucban:
TRAVELING COMPANIONS
The best way to enjoy the event is to travel with family and friends, with your very own planned itinerary to follow. Should you still decide to join a local tour, check out the credibility of the tour operator and tour guides. Although there are many tour guides that offer their services during the festival, not all of these are particularly organized, and many tourists find the rigid schedule too restraining when they would rather live up the Pahiyas experience. If you’re fearless and adventurous, going solo is even better than paying for the company of a tour guide because, sometimes, what may seem like a convenience in the beginning may quickly become a hassle.
DAY TRIPS
If you’re planning to make a day trip of the festival, take the earliest trip you can get, and bring lots of baon. Traffic is impossible, not to mention other unexpected occurrences that may cause delay. Due to a number of stops and starts, we left Makati at 5:00 AM and arrived in Lucban at noon instead of the 9:00 AM arrival that had been planned.
OVERNIGHT TRIPS
If you’re planning to stay overnight, book a room way, way in advance, say, a few months to a year before the event.
PHOTOGRAPHY
You should also check out FN's Pahiyas travel and photography tips!
Check out the gallery below to see some of the bright and colorful scenes of Lucban's Pahiyas Festival 2010.
(All photos by Lorela U. Sandoval)
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