LUCBAN HAS A NEW MAYOR!

Congratulations to the new Mayor of Lucban – Mayor Olivier Dator.  Wish you all the luck together with the rest of the Sangguniang Bayan led by the newly-elected Vice-Mayor Yeyeh Deveza.  May Lucban be changed and more progressive under your watch.  God bless you all!

FINAL RESULTS FOR LUCBAN ELECTIONS

MAYOR: Oli Dator (9,168 Votes)

V.MAYOR: Yeyeh Deveza (10,186 Votes)

COUNCILORS:

1. FALLER (11,095 Votes)
2. ABUTAL (10,035 Votes)
3. BELEN (9,638 Votes)
4. RANESES (9,313 Votes)
5. AVILA (9,046 Votes)
6. SALVATIERRA ( 8,994 Votes)
7. ARANA (8,932 Votes)
8. BUCTIL (8,914 Votes)

Travelling to Lucban – the (other) leisure way

Though it is convenient to travel on your own to Lucban during the Pahiyas Festival, it is not advisable. Traffic along the way may be experienced particularly in the Calamba-Los Banos area and Turbina-Alaminos-San Pablo stretch of the Maharlika Highway. Occasional slowdown may also be experienced along Candelaria-Lucena segment.

Another alternative route may be used via Antipolo-Laguna route. There’s no traffic there, no toll fee and the view of the mountain ranges in Rizal and Laguna de Bay in Laguna is breathtaking. The road though is zigzag, steep and sometimes treacherous specially along the slope from Antipolo to Tanay, Rizal. But the road condition is excellent.

Pass through Paete, Laguna for their woodcarvings and papier mache sculptures and souvenirs. The bridge in Pagsanjan, Laguna is under repair so a detour to Caliraya is inevitable but enjoyable after seeing the Caliraya Lake. In Cavinti, there are fruits along the way and bibingka. Banig or native mats made of pandan leaves abound in Luisiana and then Lucban.

Upon reaching the outskirts of Lucban, expect heavy traffic specially during the day till night. Big buses will not be allowed to enter the Lucban town proper. Smaller vehicles are allowed but moving slowly and most of the time crawling due to hordes of people.

Nevertheless, after seeing the colorful Pahiyas decorations, savoring the delectable foods and kakanin Lucban has to offer, surely you will come back for next year’s celebration.

100 Days to go for the Pahiyas

Exactly today, February 4 will be 100 days before we celebrate one of the Philippines colorful festivals, the Lucban San Isidro Pahiyas Festival.  Held every May 15 in Lucban, Quezon, the Pahiyas highlights row and row of houses decorated with colorful kiping, the leaf-shaped wafer that is the symbol of the Pahiyas.  Fruits, vegetables, plants and handicrafts also adorn houses, a way of thanksgiving to God for the bountiful harvests.

15% Discount for the Pahiyas Day Tour 2013

Reserve your seats for the Pahiyas Day Tour 2013 from January 1 to 31, 2013 and pay only Php 1530.00 – a 15% discount.

Take the chance to witness one of the Philippines most colorful festivals – the Lucban San Isidro Pahiyas Festival with ease and comfort as the tour package already includes airconditioned bus that will take you to Lucban, meals, souvenirs and services of a tour guide.

While in Lucban, catch the colorful Pahiyas decorations, shop for native handicrafts, savor the delectable local delicacies, witness the grand parade of carabaos and farmers, floats loaded with vegetables and fruits, parade of beauties , the higantes with marching bands and a lot more.

Reserve now and save 15% off the regular package rate of Php 1800.00.  Click here for more details or visit Pahiyasfestival.com.

Subscribe to Pahiyasfestival.com to Keep our Website Going

The Pahiyas Festival is a religious festivity, first and foremost and a community event at the same time. Since the very beginning, only the church and the townspeople are involve and the government are just mere expectators and guest to some of the events leading to the celebration. The expenses for the festival and its activities are solicited and donated by the townspeople and generous donors. The money that comes in are just enough to spend for the prizes, tokens for the guest and judges of a competition, props, sound system and lighting equipment.

Our website, is also a private undertaking, supported by some kind Lucbanins who are generous enough to lend their talents, resources and anything they can contribute for the development and upkeep of the website. The local government of Lucban particularly the Pahiyas Committee who oversees the finances and activities of the Pahiyas, since the inception of the website (which was formerly registered as pahiyas.com), has never contributed financially or otherwise to its existence. Never it occured to them that a website, specially these days, is very important as it can promote Lucban and the Pahiyas all over the globe, inform our kababayans abroad of news and current events or sell Lucban products to the world market. One would wonder why the government officials are overly complacent and boastful that the Pahiyas is already popular so there’s no need even to spend money for advertisements on newspapers. (What about the Panagbenga, Sinulog and other festivals which are equally or more popular than the Pahiyas and yet thousands of pesos are spent for a full or half page newspaper ad? Your guess is as good as mine and the rest of the Lucbanins.) Read the rest of this entry »