Philippine International Hot Air balloon Fiesta

Aviation in the Philippines is a growth industry. From humble beginnings, air travel has become the mode of choice throughout the archipelago. The Fiesta promotes a safe, forward looking, disciplined approach to flying and will contribute significantly to development of facilities and infrastructure. And our young pilots taking their first tentative steps into aviation will understand the discipline required to become safe, respected aviators both here and abroad.

The Balloon Fiesta relies on the goodwill, cooperation and volunteerism of the many hundreds of people who contribute to our success. We believe this instills the spirit of volunteerism so that everyone helps their own communities and become a man for others.

We also believe that giving back to our aviation communities is important. Each year, the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2012 Foundation provides scholarships to aeronautical engineering students. To date, seven aircraft maintenance technicians have graduated from college and a further seven are expected to graduate this coming March.

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City Information Officer (IO) Sheila Covarrubias said “the festival will kick off December 2 with the traditional lantern parade and the opening program that will be highlighted by the ceremonial switch on of lights in City Hall and Plaza Pershing and the Paseo del Mar Christmas landmarks.”

Covarrubias shared, “City Mayor Celso Lobregat will spearhead the over 2000 city officials and employees in the lantern parade that will reel off 5:30 pm of Dec. 2.”

The active lady IO said other activities during the two-week festivity include the best dressed santa caluse competition set on Dec. 8; Canciones de Zamboanga , a chorale competition set on December 9; while December 15-17 is set for Christmas Food Festival, an exhibit of all specialties and delicacies saved during Christmas season .

Covarrubias added “the entry evaluation of the best Christmas landmark competition will be held Dec. 12-16.”

“The Pascua na Zamboanga is one of the most celebrated festivals and celebrations in the city that makes the celebration of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ even more meaningful,” Covarrubias was quoted as saying. (JPA/PIA-ZBST)

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Every September, tens of thousands of pilgrims, devotees, and tourists come to Naga City for a nine-day festivity in honor of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the Patroness of Bicol, endearingly addressed by Bicolanos as “Ina” (mother).

The festivities begun with the recently famous Traslacion procession during which the images of the Lady of Peñafrancia and the Divino Rostro (Holy Face) are brought by barefooted male “voyadores” from the Basilica through the main streets of the city to the Cathedral.

Friday’s activities included the exhibition of majorettes and drum and bugle corps competition. In the evening, different live bands, including from Manila are expected to perform.

Senior Supt. Henry Savo Ranola, head of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Task Force Peñafrancia, said some 600 policemen ensure that peace and order and public safety are maintained during and after the festivities.

Saturday’s fluvial procession at the end of the novena caps the festival. The image is carried in a pagoda accompanied by a battalion of male Bicolano faithfuls going back to the Basilica as people shout “Viva La Virgen!” After that, a pontifical mass will follow.

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This year marks one decade of the Bañamos Festival in honor of the town’s patroness Nuestra Señora de Aguas Santas (Virgin of the Holy Waters). Bañamos, meaning ‘to bathe,’ carries the theme “Papuri’t Pasasalamat Nuestra Señora de Aguas Santas: Viva Bañamos sa Bagong Los Baños” and which also coincides with the town’s 396th founding year as a municipality.

Mayor Anthony Genuino said “Bañamos is a way to thank God for the blessings in Los Baños and for keeping our collective spirits alive in our efforts to promote science, environmental preservation and economic progress.”

For almost four centuries, it is believed that people who dip in water that emanates from the hot springs near the mystical Mt. Makiling of Los Baños are cured from ailments.

The 10th Bañamos Festival officially kicks-off on September 14 with a showcase of assorted local products such as the world-famous buko pie and other delicacies, handicrafts, organic health products, and construction materials made from recycled plastic. Los Baños is a pioneering local government unit in the country that bans the use of plastic bags in public markets and grocery stores.

The Immaculate Conception Parish Church in Los Baños will hold the the Takbo Para Kay Maria, a 2K and 5K fund-raising fun run, which starts dawn on September 10 at the Baker Hall of the University of the Philippines Los Baños and at the Olivarez Plaza. Proceeds of the event will go to various church projects of the parish.

The Dia Aguas Santas (Day of the Holy Waters) is set on September 17 where a symbolic public bathing will be held in a hot spring pool blessed with holy water near the Immaculate Conception Parish Church.

A procession called elejer, highlighted by spiritual street-dancing, will also be held where some 5,000 devotees are expected to join. Once gathered near the lakeshore of Baybayin, the devotees will accompany the statue of the patroness as it is mounted to join a fleet of balsa or wide motorized fishermen’s boat in a fluvial parade that will traverse a portion of the lakeshore of Los Baños.

In the early 17th century the town was referred to as Los Baños or ‘public baths’ by a Franciscan priest named Pedro Bautista because of the locality’s abundant hot springs. Public baths were then built by Spaniards after discovering the healing powers of the hot springs.

The Franciscan friars also constructed the Hospital de Nuestra Señora de las Aguas Santas de Mainit in honor of the patroness who is considered, even in modern times, as the spiritual icon of Roman Catholics in this town. Los Baños became an independent municipality in the year 1615.

Mayor Genuino added that Bañamos also aims to further boost the town’s tourism potential with other attractions such as Mt. Makiling, Dampalit Falls, Old Pantalan, Tadlac (Alligator) Lake, Mud Spring, Magnetic Hill, along with prominent institutions like the Boy Scouts Jamboree Camp, the International Rice Research Institute, and the UP Los Baños.

Other highlights of the Bañamos Festival include the national dance competition called Bailamos along with street dancing showdown, waterball adventure at the lakeshore, battle of pop and traditional bands, bikathon-for-a-cause, hot spring spa and wellness showcase, town sale or cedera, a beauty pageant, and fireworks display by the lake near the expansive Paciano Rizal Park.
Aside from its prominence in academics, science and research, Los Baños is a well-known tourist weekend or summer getaway because of the town’s proximity to Metro Manila and its hot spring resorts and assorted native delicacies.

On August 7, 2000, Los Baños was declared as a “Special Science and Nature City of the Philippines” through Presidential Proclamation No. 349 in recognition as a center for science and technology in the development of agriculture and preservation of the environment.

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Baliuag community affairs and tourism officer Rosie Bautista thanked the members of the Sangguniang Bayan for participating in the Buntal hat fashion show where they acted as models of the different types of Buntal hat, a native headwear made from the fiber of the Buri palm.

Bautista, who is one of the pioneers and leading Buntal hat makers in Baliuag, also said local weavers made a giant Buntal hat which can be viewed at the entrance of the mall’s event center.

She also said that mall goers can walk down memory lane through an exhibit dubbed as “The History of Buntal Hat Weaving in Baliuag” which showcases a photo story on the origin of the first Buntal hat that dates back in the year 1910.

It also features the step-by-step guide in making an open brim Buntal hat and the native tools used by local folks in making the hand-woven hat.

Provincial administrator Jim Valerio said the event is one way of promoting one of Bulacan’s major cottage industries and at the same time aims to relive the rich tradition of weaving Buntal hat which has become a popular trademark of this town.

He said that local tourism and livelihood opportunities are among the major thrusts of Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado and the provincial government of Bulacan.

He added that the “Buntal Festival” shows the unique craftsmanship of the Bulakenyos and its rich cultural heritage.

Jo Clemente, technical consultant of Bulacan Tourism Council, said the “Buntal Festival” is one of the colorful May time events in Bulacan.

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