STA. CRUZ, Laguna — The “La Laguna Festival,” dubbed as the best festival by tourism authorities for two consecutive years, is being celebrated with 72 activities lined up.

Now on its third year, the La Laguna Festival which takes its name from the Spanish term “the lagoon” refers to the third largest living lake in Asia – Laguna de Bay.

The celebration centers on the lake being a source of life and livelihood. It has been awarded as the best festival by the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) in the provincial category.

This year, Laguna George “ER” Ejercito said the 10-day festival carries the theme “Sa Puso at Diwa: Una sa Lahat ang Bagong Laguna (In Heart and Mind: The New Laguna is Number One).”

The festival kicks off today with a motorcade and a thanksgiving mass at the Cultural Center of Laguna. Ejercito will also deliver today his state of the province address (SOPA).

Delto Abarquez Jr., chairman of the La Laguna Festival, said this year is a much bigger celebration and boasted of the increased number of tourist visits in Laguna from around 2 million to 4.8 million since Ejercito became governor.