A fiesta of designs and colors! This is my short description of the San Isidro Pahiyas Festival in Lucban, Quezon which I was finally able to attend with a tour group this year. Unlike last year when the event was spoiled by rains, this year’s fiesta was blessed with eternal sunshine and was crowded with visitors, more than ever.
It was simply amazing to see the creativity of the town of Lucban on this occasion, and if only for this, they deserve to be flocked by people from all over who see in the Pahiyas a showcase of the ultimate Filipino fiesta. With the Pahiyas, town natives give thanks for a bountiful harvest and pay homage to their patron saint San Isidro de Labrador. This explains the presence of design elements like vegetables, fruits and grains being stringed together to create delightful artworks!
A recurring theme is the use of the “kiping,” often shaped like a leaf. The flattened “kiping” is made from ground rice flour and then dyed into assorted attractive colors like fuschia, red and yellow. Look at the lanterns, petals and leaves in the photo below…that’s kiping.
The “peek-a-boo” window theme is also a favorite of the Lucban fiesta makers. Visitors always have fun having their pictures taken by the makeshift windows…..
Elbow-to-elbow crowd during the festival. It’s good how much Pahiyas has boosted the town’s tourism. Tourists like us got the chance to sample Lucban’s numerous offerings like the pancit habhab, their beautiful woven hats and other attractions.
More pics in my Flickr photoset 🙂
Very nice photos! I’ve never been to Pahiyas. I hope someday I will.
Thanks iMom. Join ka lang ng tour group, para “painless,” hehe
yup tons of people were there. I thought it was a bit less than last year 🙂
yep it did rained but it was a whole lot of fun 🙂 I was there too last year hehehe XD
Another good story …and great pics . You’ve show cased this fiesta so well Annalyn , you have made it accessible for Pinoy and foreigners alike . Thank you .A must see and do .
thanks for featuring Pahiyas Festival. It’s one of the major tourist attraction in quezon province. May 15 is just 3 months away see you there!