Anihan Festival of Lobo, Batangas : Celebration of a Bountiful Harvest

Publisher September 5, 2013 2 Comments 8,335 Views

Many Batangueños were born from a family of farmers. This is perhaps where the Batangueños’ trait of being hard-working has rooted from.

Sixty (60) percent of the province’s land area is agricultural. With a land this huge to cultivate, our farmers surely need the government’s support in order to continue making progress for the province’s economy and for them to keep hold of a regular source of living.

Take for example, the town of Lobo. It has 19,268 hectares of land where rice, corn, coconut, fruit-bearing trees, and root crops grow. Despite some limitations for its agricultural potential to completely prosper, commodities from Lobo are blessings to consider every day.

That is why the town folks gather each year, on the last week of September, to celebrate the Anihan Festival. This is the local government’s way of giving importance to their main source of income – the agricultural products they grow and the fruit that put Lobo in the “capital of the Philippines” list, atis (sugar apple).

Since the aim of Anihan Festival is to showcase the town’s bountiful harvest, festivities include trade fair which, of course, highlights the products of each barangay and street-dancing competition where costume and choreography reflect their agricultural gems.

On September 27, 2011, Lobo was declared as the Atis Capital of the Philippines. It coincided in the town’s 140th foundation anniversary. Lobo earns an average of P2.5 million each year from atis harvest.

It was also on the same day that the agro-ecotourism of Lobo was launched. This is to fortify four components existing in the municipality: biodiversity, history and cultural heritage, agricultural products, and beach and resorts.

Anihan Festival 2013 is scheduled for a week-long celebration from Sept. 24 to 29. Activities lined-up for the event are listed below. Visit Lobo and experience Anihan Festival! And don’t forget to taste the sweetest atis in the country!

Check out our Top 10 Most Celebrated Festivals in Batangas