The artistry and ingenuity of Lucbanins once again attracted thousands of foreign and local tourists who attended the Pahiyas Festival. Extravagant designs of colorful kipings on various houses reminded thousands of tourists why the province of Lucban, Quezon is known as the province of artists.

The Pahiyas festival is considered as one of the most unique celebration in the country which is celebrated every 15th of May. The official name of the festivity is Lucan San Isidro Pahiyas festival where colorful kipings or rice flakes and other harvests adorn the facades of houses.
 
A Colorful Attraction

Tourists who attended the celebration didn’t mind the humid weather as they enjoyed taking photos of the unique houses. Each participating house varies in color and concept which also provided a chance for tourists to learn about the culture of the province.

Aside from the colorful kiping, other harvests such as vegetables and even a roasted pig’s head were used to design the facade of the houses. The decoration had its early beginnings when farmers used to bring their houses in the parish church to be blessed. To make things easier for them, Lucban’s parish priest asked the residents to just put the harvests in front of their houses and he would pass by and bless them.

From the festival’s humble beginnings where everyone in the province partakes of a sumptuous meal, it has now become the second most visited festival in the country next to Cebu’s Sinulog. The celebration this year was quite different in that Lucban celebrated the Pahiyas Festival for more than a month.

'Kiping' with the Tradition

“The Pahiyas Festival has long been a tradition of Lucbanins; its history goes back to the early 1500s. It’s a traditional thanksgiving celebration of farmers for the bountiful harvest they received and also served as an offering to have another great year of harvest,” explained Dan Oblefias, Head of Planning and Coordination for the Pahiyas Festival.

Oblefias also added that “Instead of just putting their harvest in front of the houses, the province decided to have a contest which can help in the province’s tourism. This was the beginning of how the creative designs of harvests on houses became associated with the Pahiyas festival.”

“As our festival represents Filipino culture, art and ingenuity, we wanted to have a longer celebration this year to make room for new activities that aims to revive the fading Filipino culture. We aim to re-introduce the wonderful Filipino culture to the youth so they could realize the relevance and importance of our culture,” elaborated Oblefias.

Included in the month long activities were the Langgonisa Festival and Tapas-Kayud competition where participants showcased the old traditional ways of preparing foods. There were also the kundiman and harana competitions which aimed to reiterate the romantic culture of courtship. 

Pahiyas in the future

The success of the festival rests on the big number of international tourist and balikbayans who came to the province of Lucban.

“We are very pleased and happy with the number of foreign tourist that we received this year. We also had one of the grandest home-coming for Lucbanins who went back to enjoy the Pahiyas Festival and be with their relatives,” expressed Armando Abutal, Vice Mayor of Lucban, Quezon.

Aside from the merriment, the Pahiyas festival also serves as the venue for the locals of Lucban to hold reunions. It is the same reason why the locals don’t mind spending for the designs of the colorful facades that made Lucban famous.

“The arrival of balikbayans from the United States is a testament to how our festival has become internationally recognized. They want to rediscover the beauty of the province and they yearn to go back. They choose Lucban over Las Vegas to have their reunions,” said Abutal.

A plan to build a Pahiyas Village is being considered to sustain the international fame of the festival, according to Vice Mayor Abutal.

“We want to have a place here in the province where the unique celebration of the Pahiyas Festival can be experienced by tourists for an entire year and would not be just limited to the month of May. It is already being planned and we believe that it could push through especially with the ongoing construction of a major highway in the province,” added Abutal.