Featuring regional festival dance performances, parades, music, a beauty pageant (a must-have in every local festival), and a concert to spotlight OPM artists, Aliwan Fiesta is a true celebration of all the ways to be Filipino.
Merchants from across the country were also given the opportunity to showcase their traditions by way of heritage handicrafts and delicacies; and so attendees were given an opportunity to savor and take home mementos of the vibrant Filipino experience.
A booth from Benguet sold packs of Baguio's star product: strawberries, large, ripe, and red. They also had lychee, oranges, green and red grapes, and an array of sweet treats like lengua de gato, peanut brittle, chocolate flakes, ube and strawberry jams, flavored jellies, and marshmallows.
Among the wares of Bulaceño's booth were handmade coin purses which you would buy three of for P100, personalization for free. The wiry doll keychains on display were also handmade, and they carried crochet flowers too.
Sellers from the nearby Quezon City sold an assortment of necklaces, with straw-thin glass tube pendants and clear marble birthstone pendants ornamented by hand with clay, wood carving pendants from Baguio, as well as bracelets made with colorful thread. Their most saleable products are their birthstone necklaces, coin purses, and belt bags, as the necklaces make for great gifts at only P50; the belt bags are popular among motorcyclists and sold for only P280. They also offered to ink henna tattoos that would last for a week at least.
All the way from Mindanao, one seller toted mainly handmade bags from various provinces like Davao, Zamboanga, Bicol, and Lingayen. One kind of bag he sold was made of rubberized Thailand batik, although the textile is made into bags and wallets in the Philippines. The iconic patterning accentuated by superimposed designs in gold evokes the richness of Muslim Mindanao's culture, and, depending on size, could be purchased from P250 to 450. There were also pretty handmade abaca sling bags and coin purses as well.
Another booth, this time from Batangas, sold many kinds of kakanin or glutinous rice cakes which are a signature pinoy delicacy, whether for dessert or meryenda (snack): stacks of bibingka, a bilao of suman, suman antala, kutsinta--and they had yema, pastillas, which are milk-based confections, and kasoy or cashews too.
The one from Vigan stood out for its dining sets, tables, and display racks. There were also wineglass holders, which the seller said was convenient for its portability, a tissue roll holder, phone stands, and a miniature table and chairs set. All are hewn from wood, and the type sets the price: the mulave dining set costs P40,000 while the narra goes for P60,000. An acacia vanity was P8,000.
Other products in the bazaar include itak or bolo knives, hanging seashell decor from Visayas, Kalinga ponchos, skirts, and sandals, Vigan empanada, bagnet chicharon, and tablea.
