San Fernando, Pampanga—An estimated 100,000 people is expected to watch the 110-year-old Giant Lantern Festival that kicks off this Saturday here, with 11 barangays competing in the annual competition.
Also called “Ligligan Parol,” the annual festival started in 1904. The City of San Fernando has been called the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines” since 1990 and the festival remains a source of community pride.
The city’s craftsmen, with their talents and creativity, have mastered the art of making giant lanterns, a skill handed down from generation to generation.
This year, the festival of light and color will be held at its regular venue, the Robinsons Starmills Mall, as 11 of the total 35 barangays of this 1st class city are joining the annual event.
Alex F. Patio, chairman of the 2018 Giant Lantern Festival committee said the participating villages are Telebastagan, Sindalan, San Jose, Del Carmen, Sta.Lucia, Sto. Nino, San Nicola’s, Del Pilar, San Juan, Calulut, and San Pedro Cutud.
This year’s festival is unique with the inclusion of the first woman lantern-maker, Maryann Torres, a 36-year-old descendant of one of the pioneers in the industry, representing San Jose.
Barangay Dolores, a grand slam winner, did not join this year’s festival, Patio added.
The main rule of the competition is that all entries must be at least 20 feet high and must be fitted with at least 10,000 colorful light bulbs.
In the past, villages were reluctant to join the festival because of the big disparity in the number of bulbs used per entry, but this time all entries have complied with the rules and regulations, Patio said.
The city has invited national and local government officials, members of the different diplomatic corps like ambassadors in country, civic leaders, businessmen, non-government organizations, and other stakeholders to grace the exhibition.
Expected to grace the occasion are local and foreign tourists, specially those from nearby provinces, Metro Manila and other places.
To accommodate guests and tourists alike, Patio said they prepared a parking lot and coordinated with the transportation companies for tourists, while electric trikes will also be fielded for people with disability and senior citizens.
Tight security is also being implemented with the cooperation of police authorities and city traffic division. No backpacks are allowed for onlookers during the exhibition, he said.
Patio stressed that all judges for this year festival are locals who are knowledgeable in their craft and industry, and are expected to render a fair and honest decision.
All entries are subsidized with the amount of P300,000 each from the city government under Mayor Edwin D. Santiago to maintain the old cultural tradition of lantern making in the city.
Robinson Starmills contributed P3 million for the affair, while other participants relied on donations from their respective villages to meet the demand of 10,000 bulbs.