Photo from: emieyley.blogspot.com
Lanzones Festival is held every third week of October and it is a four
day grand celebration of the lanzones fruit. The most important livelihood in
Camiguin is lanzones. It is when a lot of tourists come to witness the joyous
Lanzones festival. Lanzones is one of the major fruit producers in the
Philippines. Lanzones is a tropical fruit that grows extravagantly on the
north-central coast of Mindanao. Lanzones has a pale brown skin and sweet
translucent flesh. It is said that the sweetest lanzones in the Philippines
comes from Camiguin. The town of Mambajao in Camiguin celebrated its annual
festival called Lanzones Festival together with its harvest in the month of
October.
Photo from: seasite.niu.edu
Lanzones Festival in Mambadjao Camiguin is celebrated with a weekend street dancing competition and parties, cultural shows, parade and beauty pageant (coronation of Mutya sa Buahanan) and trade fair that features local handicraft and products. Houses, street poles and even people are ornamented with lanzones during the lanzones festival. According to the legend of an unknown beautiful maiden took the fruit’s past bitter flavor to replace it to delicious and sweet taste of the lanzones, thus townsfolk dance in the streets in order to honor and celebrate. It also celebrated by the people in Camiguin as a contribution in making Mindanao as a cultural tourism destination and give thanks for a bountiful harvest for all the agricultural products. - philippinecountry.com
Photo from: filipinobiography.com
Lanzones Festival is an annual thanksgiving celebration for Camiguin Island's bountiful harvest. The town of Mambajao holds the feast during the third week of October, in time for the season of the tropical fruit lanzones. The province of Camiguin is known for having the sweetest lanzones among the abundant sources of the fruit along the north-central coast of Mindanao. The locals and tourists enjoy this weeklong celebration with a line-up of activities showcasing the richness culture in Camiguin like street dancing, grand lanzones parade, agri-cottage industry products exhibits, and beauty pageants. Aside from this, the people also await the annual barangay beautification contest, indigenous sports, and tableau of local culture within the week.
Photo from: matetreyes.blogspot.com
It is believed that the celebration started with the local legend about a childless couple who wished for a child from a lanzones tree fairy. The fairy granted them a healthy baby boy but the couple forgot to thank her. One day, a suspicious-looking woman approached their child while he was playing. The boy suddenly fell unconscious. His parents thought that it was the lanzones fairy who had enchanted the boy. The couple decided to perform a ritual to appease the fairy and, sure enough, the child became well again.
Photo from: hawaiianwebmaster.com
The following year, the couple invited the neighboring barrio to participate in the thanksgiving ritual. From then on, the ritual became an annual festivity in Camiguin to recreate the ceremonies done by the ancient forefathers of the island to the gods that provide good weather and abundant harvest. - wikipilipinas.org
