Saturday, December 13, 2014

The Giant Lanterns of San Fernando, Pampanga

Last December 13, we had an impromptu rendezvous at San Fernando, Pampanga for the Giant Lantern Festival.

There were nine giant lanterns from different baranggays which were featured at the festival. All of them beautiful. All of them colorful. It was Filipino ingenuity at its finest. As the host had mentioned, this happened because a lantern maker and head electrician worked together to make a vision happen. Lights worked in synchorinicity. It was like a dancing show. The lights twinkled as they turned on and off to the beat of a background music.

It was really a challenge going to this festival from Manila. The traffic was terrible near Star Mills Mall. And the parking around its grounds was full. We took a chance at a vacant space near the highway. We went inside the mall to eat. But we saw that there was an entrance to the festival grounds. Apparently, we needed a ticket to get in. The ticket station was positioned near the entrance of the mall. They were not really selling tickets.They were selling a commemorative lantern book. This comes with two tickets. A ticket means you can seat inside a fenced area. This gave us and the kids a lot of convenience. We really enjoyed the competition. I, for one, was blown away by the Filipino ingenuity.

I'm very happy that my kids got to experience this event. They enjoyed it. And It's very good for the Filipino soul. I asked them to pick their best two. I gave them five pesos for their every choice that gets an award. R is two for two. S got one entry right.

I believe that it's important for kids to let them appreciate the genius of their race. It makes them appreciate who they are and where they came from.

Where to go:
Giant Lantern Festival
Star Mills Grounds
San Fernando, Pampanga

Nine baranggays that competed for 2014:
San Juan Nepomuceno
San Nicolas
Telabastagan - 3rd place
Del Pilar
Sto. Nino
San Jose
Calulut - 2nd place
Dolores - Champion
Sta. Lucia


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