ILOILO CITY – The island-province of Guimaras is preparing for the face-to-face comeback of the festival that highlights its most abundant and well-loved resource – the mango.
MANGOES of the island-province of Guimaras are said to be one of the world’s sweetest varieties. (Tara Yap)
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The provincial government under Gov. JC Rahman Nava announced the return of the Manggahan Festival after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
The 2023 edition is the first full-blast celebration in three years. The past two iterations were scaled down and had only minor activities such as the agri-trade fair.
In 2022, the provincial government limited visitors of the Manggahan Festival to residents of Western Visayas region. Non-residents of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental as well as the highly urbanized cities of Iloilo and Bacolod were not allowed as Guimaras had strict protocols for visitors entering the island-province.
This year will have a dance cultural contest among the five towns – Buenavista, Jordan, Nueva Valencia, San Lorenzo, and Sibunag – depicting the abundance of mangoes and the rich fishing community in the island-province.
This was the major event that was not held during the past three years of the pandemic.
The Manggahan Festival will culminate on May 22, the 31st founding anniversary of Guimaras, which was once a sub-province of Iloilo.