By Bianca Marie France E. Viadan 

“The Halamanan Festival” is a festivity in Guiguinto, Bulacan that showcases their love for plants from trees and flowers that provides livelihood to the people of the province. Through this celebration, they have also shown the artistic talents of Bulaqueños wherein 14 barangays in the province including LGU’s participated in making amazing floats that were used in parades.

The celebration of Guiguinto’s Halamanan Festival is an annual event on every 23^rd of January since 1998 which was established by Mayor Ambrosio Cruz, Jr. It is also an event to show gratitude to their dear Patron Saint San Ildefonso who has governed the Church of Toledo for over nine years until his death and known for having a solid devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God. The beginning of this annual festival brought the province to its title as the “The Garden Capital of the Philippines.” There are amazing activities that everyone can enjoy, like ‘Parada ng Karosa’ or parades of floats decorated with beautiful plants, colorful flowers, landscapes, different kinds of animals, bahay kubo, and image of the Blessed Mother. There are also street dances where participating groups wear colorful flower and plant-inspired costumes. Numerous events and competitions such as ‘Halamanan’ Garden Competition, ‘Halamanan’ Indakan sa Kalye, Art Exhibit, Book Nook, Sabayang Paglilinis ng Kailugan, ‘Bulaklak ng Halamanan’ Folk Dance Competition, Hari at Reyna ng Halamanan Pageant, Organiko sa Barangay, MALO (Malupet) Fest, Sundaluhan, Padyak Sikad, Iskolaran and more that can bring joyful and unforgettable experience not only to the Bulaqueños but also to the tourists and plant lovers who will visit the province.

Photos by Shauang Boto

The beautiful and colorful masterpieces of ‘The Halamanan Festival’ not only show the beauty of the Province of Bulacan but also exhibits their appreciation and gratefulness for their growing Garden Industry that only shows how much our father up above provides us with what we needed in the form of gifts from Mother Nature.

Photos by Jovit Caballero

If you haven’t got the chance to witness this incredible and wonderful festival like me, you can still visit the Province of Bulacan to enjoy not only their Garden Industry but also their other field of specialties such as Marble and Marbleized Limestone, Jewelry, Pyrotechnics, Leather, Garments, Furniture, and Native Delicacies.

Photos by Justine De Leon

These kind of festivities shows us how blessed we are even before modern times came. Nature has been providing us with things that cannot be bought by wealth. We build homes, shelters, furniture, clothes, and papers using plants and trees, we build dams and reservoirs as a source of water we humans and all other inhabitants of the earth needed to survive, but most importantly, it produces precious oxygen which keeps us alive and breathing. Let us open our hearts and see the importance of plants and trees in our existence.

Let us keep on reminding our selves to be grateful for what nature offers us each day so we can be more responsible in taking good care of the environment, that we for so long taking for granted. Let’s all look back and imagine how great it is to see the beauty of nature we once had, how nice it is to breathe in the clean fresh air, and how mesmerizing it is to see the beauty of the clear night sky no matter where we are in this vast and limitless world.

Photos by Ry Jacinto

May we always remember what the history of this planet showed and taught us, that we humans needed nature to survive, but nature itself will survive on its own without humans.“[6] I planted the seed, and Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. [7] So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ^[8] The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.” 1 Corinthians 3:3-8

Sources:

Halamanan Festival Official Facebook Page, Municipality of Guiguinto Official Facebook Page, Bulacan Tourism Official FB Page, Wikipedia Official Website, Hello Travel Official Website, Travel to the Philippines Official Website, Catholic News Agency Official Website, Bible Study Tools Official Website, OTOP Bulacan PH Official Website)

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