Health - NEDA-RDC VI

Industry
Calendar of Festivals and Events
FESTIVAL/EVENT
Economic Development
DATE VENUE BRIEF
DESCRIPTION
FEBRUARY
Kali-Kali Festival February 2-9 Don Salvador Benedicto,
Negros Occidental
Charter Day:
Escalante People’s
Day
February 28
Escalante City,
Negros Occidental
MAY
Manlambus Festival May 30 Escalante City,
Negros Occidental
Source: DOT, 6
Table 6
20
A harvest festival with a street dance showing
their cultural heritage the art of “kali”
otherwise known as “arnis” or “escrima”,
the traditional martial arts of the Filipino
people since the 7 th century.
This event is the commemoration of the
signing of R.A. 9014 into law declaring Escalante
as one of the component cities of
Negros Occidental, by President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo. Escalantehanons prepare
for this celebration every year for a
day of activities to underscore the progress
and how it miraculously metamorphosed
from a sleepy town with a notorious past
(Escalante Massacre of 1982) to a tourist
and trading hub in the northern part of the
province.
Mamlambus Festival is a Visayan term
meaning “to strike with a club” because
fishes were then teeming around its coastal
waters and that catching them could simply
be done by clubbing with a wooden paddle.
The festival culminates every May 30 annually
with the traditional Street Dancing
Competition, where people share a vibrant
and festive commemoration of Escalante’s
Culture and Heritage. Street party colors fill
the city with fun and spirit of togetherness
among the people. Escalantehanons who
migrated abroad and other parts of the
country return home to celebrate this annual
big event of the city and honored in
“Balik Escalante” program.