Antiqueños respect and love their history, including saints, animals, nature, and the 10 Bornean Datus that first led the settlement in the province in the early 15th century.
To remember their ancestors and show respect for their roots, the different towns assemble yearly to celebrate the festivals with themes mainly connected to saints, nature, and their datus.
The festivals celebrate different themes such as saints, land/sea forms, legends, agricultural products, animals, craftsmanship, and way of living.
Choosing the right festivals in Antique can be overwhelming if you’re just beginning to understand Antique’s culture and traditions.To help you speed up your festival-hopping plan, we listed the top 10 best festivals that you should add to your bucket list.
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1. Tiringbanay Festival
Tiringbanay festival is held to commemorate and remember the patron St. Joseph the Worker. The festival is celebrated every April 30 – May 1 and includes parades, music, and booths that aim to show the culture, beliefs, and traditions of San Josenhons.
Photo by Panay News
It is also one of the capital’s ways to welcome tourists to the province. Tourists will enjoy buying different handicrafts, flowers/herbs, and native delicacies during the festival.
2. Binirayan Festival
Every December, Antiqueños celebrate the Binirayan Festival. This commemorates the journey of 10 Bornean Datus who are believed to be the first settlers of Panay island. The highlight of this cultural event is the reenactment of the arrival of these Datus on the island.
Photo by Antique.gov.ph
Aside from that, the festivity is filled with traditional dances, street parades, concerts, beach shows, trade fairs, and many cultural performances.
READ MORE: Binirayan Festival: Celebrating Heritage in Antique
3. Tugbong Festival
Another similar festival to the Tiringbanay is the Tugbong festival where St. Vincent Ferrer, is commemorated by the people of Pandan. Celebrated every April 21 – 25, the people of Pandan set up different attractions and events both for the locals and the tourists.
Photo by Knowing Antique
Attractions and events include agro-industrial fairs, sports tournaments, the Dalmacio marathon, motocross invitational competitions, boat rowing competitions, etc. Of course, beauty pageants, mardi-gras, and float competitions is included as well. The Pandan also includes the Ati-atihan event in their festival.
4. Madja-as Festival
Photo by Madja-as Festival
Mountains for the people of Culasi are sacred and must be commemorated. They celebrate the existence of Mt Madja-as, the highest mountain of Panay. The Madia-as festival is celebrated every March 3 – 7 and highlights the beautiful ladies of the town as they compete for the “Diwata ng Madia-as” title. The festival includes colorful parades and booths as well.
5. Banigan Festival
From clay and potters, we added the weavers to the list as well. The people of Libertad celebrate their skills in the weaving of banig during the Banigan Festival. Held every March 14-26, the festival includes colorful parades, dances, and competitions that highlight the craftsmanship of the people of Libertad.
Photo by Discover Antique
The making of banig is their main source of living which is why the festival includes displaying their products and the process of making them as well. Tourists will enjoy buying their famous banig and watching their yearly competitions.
READ THE BLOG POST: 23+ Best Tourist Spots in Antique
6. Tatusan Festival
For the Antiqueños, food is also an important part of their culture, just like the coconut Crabs. With the high abundance of coconut crabs, called Tatus, in the Caluya, Antique, people used this as an opportunity for tourists to know more about these crabs.
Photo by Panay News
The celebration is held every April 9 – 11 and it includes colorful parades of floats (usually designed with crabs), street-dancing, and showcase booths.
7. Patuyaw Festival
From the name itself, Patuyaw Festival is held every year to commemorate the abundance of freshwater shrimps, called Patuyaw, in the town of Sebaste. For the Sebastehanon, their relationship to the environment is very important and they appreciate the abundance of Patuyaw by showcasing them with parades and booths.
Photo by Abiera, Sebaste, Antique
The yearly celebration is held from January 23 – February 2 at the town of Sebaste.
8. Batabat Festival
The word “Batabat” comes from the Antique legend “abat-abat”. It is celebrated with colorful parades of the people of Barbaza, dressed in Mardigras costumes. People of Barbaza use this festival to display the costumes accompanied by a series of graceful dance performances connected to the “abat-abat” legend.
Photo by Batabat, Antique
The festival is held yearly during March 16 – 19 in the town of Barbaza.
9. Pahinis Festival
Antiqueños do not just celebrate saints and mountains, but their agricultural produce as well. The Pahinis festival is held to promote their muscovado sugar industry. The festival is held during the third week of January and includes showcasing the traditions, arts of town, and culture of the people of Laua-an.
Pahinis is not only a festival, but it is also a ritual done in the cleaning of equipment and tools for the muscovado industry.
10. Maninihon Festival
Like the Pahinis Festival, the people of Tibiao celebrate the pottery industry and culture of Tibiao through the Maninihon Festival. Tibiao has the largest supply of clay, and they also have the most skilled potters in the province of Antique which is why this festival is also one of the best festivals in Antique.
Held every February 17-20, tourists can enjoy watching the dances of the people of Tibiao. They also sell products made from clay during the festival.
Tips and things to remember when going to Antique festivals.
1. Prepare Peso cash.
If you are planning on attending a festival in Antique, make sure to prepare cash for the souvenirs and booths. While there are ATMs and money exchange stalls in malls, do not expect the locals to accommodate your credit cards. In the rural areas in the Philippines, cash is still king.
2. Wear clothes that are cool for the skin.
The Philippines is a country near the equator, so expect warm weather throughout the January to May months. Sando and shorts are advised to tourists and make sure to bring an extra shirt to festivals. Some festivals splash water to the audiences.
Antique is also known for its beaches and waterfalls. This tip is both for attending festivals or just enjoying Antique itself.
3. Do your research.
A very important part of attending festivals is to know why they hold the festival. You will appreciate the festival more if you know the history that the Antiqueños are showcasing. Feel free to check our article during your trip, to know which saint, product, or animal is being commemorated every time.
4. Learn simple Antique words
Though it is not very important, you can easily befriend Antiqueños if you can at least say “Hello” or “Thank you” in their language. Antiqueños are friendly, especially to tourists.
5. Be open to different cultures and beliefs.
At some point in the festivals, you might not agree with their reasons for the festival such as religion, myths, etc., but part of the festival is to embrace their culture as well.
Antiqueños not only want to hold their festivals to attract tourists. They also want the tourists to understand their colorful culture, and how they survived for hundreds of years.
Final Thoughts
Antique is a lovely place, filled with humble and kind people. Even without the festivals, the culture, landscape, and the people themselves are already worth traveling to.
Their food and the local animals and creatures are also worth checking out if you have extra time in the province. That is if you still can’t get enough of the festivals.
We hope that this short list gave you a glimpse of how festive Antiqueños are. There are still hundreds of festivals in the Philippines, and we also encourage you to check them out. Have fun in Antique, Philippines!
