13th Zambales Mango Festival 2013: It's More Fun in Zambales
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Iba is a municipality and capital of the province of Zambales in the Philippines. Iba is the second largest provincial capital in terms of land area in Central Luzon Region after Tarlac City. Just a little added fact, Iba is the birthplace of our former Philippine
President Ramon Magsaysay.
Tourism is one of the major economic activity in Iba during the summer period. It has become a popular destination for summer vacationists and tourists due to the pristine and beautiful beaches that line the shorelines of Iba, and adventure trekking to the unique 3-series of Iba waterfalls.
Its pollution-free beaches due to the absence of industrial-polluting activities in the locality, make it one of the best places in the Philippines.
In response to the growing number of both local and foreign visitors, investments in beach resorts have increased in the last fifteen years. Today there are about 50 beach resorts in Iba.
I was very lucky to be invited by the Municipality of Iba, Zambales to cover the Mango Festival, Thanks to Mr. Darwin Gutierrez. I was really excited to cover simply because I have never covered a festival in my life, this is my first time and I love Mangoes! Zambales is one of the places to go to during summer and I knew I will really enjoy it and I did :-)
I love our family room, very spacious, clean, nice C.R. plus it has three floors perfect for the whole family! In our case, it's totally perfect for us bloggers.
The Capitol. I was so amazed with the way they decorated it. They used artificial fruits which totally looked so real it made hungry.
This is a closer look on how they decorated the Municipal hall in preparation for the Mango Festival.
We also went to visit different kiosk near the Municipal Hall showcasing different towns and the products they are known for.
While we enjoy different colorful kioks, we also marveled with their delicious products like the one at San Marcelino where they have Turnip Pie or in tagalog, Singkamas Pie, they also have Singkamas boat tarts and yema balls with singkamas as well, it was really delicious!
While in San Antonio, they have Malunggay cookies! I tried it and I didn't even taste any trace of Malunggay in it! really good and healthy for you too.
San Felipe offers one of my favorites, garlic longganisa! No preservatives added mind you :-)
What I'm love as well is the Curacha, the red crab which they fondly call "Curacha". We also get to try their Basi wine and Nipa juice which had a little kick in it.
The Mango Festival
The festival is a celebration of a bountiful harvest of mangoes and other agricultural products which the province is known for. It is also aimed to highlight the attractions and places of interest in all of its towns. As a way of promoting and giving thanks for a good harvest, the people of Zambales annually celebrates the four-day Mango Festival in Iba.
We get to watch the street dance parade showcasing different town and provinces.
I really enjoyed the street dance competition, aside from the colorful costumes, they also have the best choreography, and unity that a group should have to perform in front of the crowd. The champion were the Mango Festival from Iba Zambales then 1st prize goes to Pangasinan then 2nd runner up goes to Villasis Pangasinan for their Talong Festival.
Governor Jun Ebdane was there from the start of the program till the announcing of winners. He also wanted to promote the tourism of Zambales.
We also get to cover the sand sculpting competition!
Check out Lolong and Hulk
Snapshots with Blogger friends! This is how we enjoyed our time at Zambales!
With these, I can totally say that It's really more fun in the Philippines! we have so many provinces to go to, so many festivals yet so little time, why go outside the country when we can explore our country more? Do it now and start at Zambales! enjoy the sweetness of mangoes and engulf yourself with the pristine beaches that Zambales is known for like Potipot Island, Capones Island, Anawangin and more!
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