By Alexander Villafania
DAVAO CITY – With the declaration of two holidays on August 20 and 21, the city of Davao has become a veritable fun spot for local and foreign tourists attending the 2012 Kadayawan Festival.
In addition, the city was given a special non-working holiday by President Benigno Aquino III on August 17 specifically for the Eid'l Fitr celebration.
The Kadayawan, derived from the ancient greeting of good tidings “madayaw,” was started as a small event in 1986 in an effort to rally the Davaoeños to be part of regional development in the aftermath of the Martial Law years. It called upon its residents to help in bringing in business in the city and to showcase its natural beauty, particularly its famous durian, the unique orchid waling-waling, and is also the home of the only Philippine Eagle center.
Now, the Kadayawan has become one of south Philippines’ largest festivities, running during the entire month of August. This year, Davao prepared various events, including a showcase of the ten known tribes in Davao, the nightly party called Hudyakaan, the Lumadnong Gama & Dayaw Market display of indigenous people’s artifacts, and a number of music, sports, and arts events.
As always, the Kadayawan’s pride and joy is its fluvial parade, the Pamulak. This grand finale showcased the flowers in bloom as well as the fruits that have ripened for harvesting in Davao and nearby provinces. It was here that many of the city's artists displayed their skills in creating floats and costumes that emphasized on these fruits and flowers.
***
Filquest Media Concepts, Inc. , the parent company of loQal.ph, is a multimedia publisher and provider of web, print, mobile and video content. We do this for our own media properties, but we also extend that service as an outsourced provider for news organizations, web, print, mobile and broadcasting companies.
