CITY OF ILAGAN, Isabela – The week-long Bambanti Festival here kicks off January 22.
The executive committee, chaired by Isabela Vice Gov. and Bambanti Festival 2024 Director General Faustino "Bojie" G. Dy III, has put together the festival's traffic management and security plan, among others.
BAMBANTI Festival schedule of activities
Festival competitions were divided into two categories – Category A for cities and first-class municipalities and Category B for second- to fifth-class towns – the provincial information office said.
Festival highlights include Search for Queen Isabela 2024, agri-ecotourism exhibit and sale, giant Bambanti showcase, street dance and dance showdown competitions, Festival King and Queen, Makan ken Mainum food and drink competition, music festival, fun run, bubble and rave party, grand concert, and grand fireworks display.
Theme for this year's festival is “Ettam ngana ta Isabela” (Tara na sa Isabela or Let’s Go to Isabela).
A tourism marketing campaign, written in Ibanag language, invites visitors to explore, experience, and embrace the wonders of the “Queen Province of the North.”
The agri-ecotourism exhibit and sale will showcase the best products with a creative interpretation of giant bambanti from each municipality and city in this province.
Officials here said that Bambanti Festival is a thanksgiving to the people of Isabela, particularly farmers, who bring honor to the province.
Bambanti is the Ilocano term for scarecrow, the guardian of their fields and farms.