B-day Surprise 104: Ligligan Festival '07

December 15th, 2007. Ligligan Parul or the Giant Lantern festival. I was so0o excited to see it kaya talagang inabangan ko 'to at nagresearch ng konti about it. Curious eh..I remember, the first time na nakita ko ung mga parol e nung time na dinala dito sa Manila 'yung mga nanalong parol. Wala pang "the block" nun sa SM, pure parking space pa. Dun sila dinisplay. Funny kasi talagang naiyak ako when I saw it, sobra!

Last year, nagpunta na rin kami sa Pampanga to see it. Sa Paskuhan Village nakadisplay ung mga parol pero it was not the competition na napanood namin. Exhibition lang. Same thing, I really enjoyed it and felt like a kid again. Mega abang, talon and seriously watched each parol's show. "Do not disturb" ang drama.

This year's festival is really special kasi sinadja namin puntahan un to see te competion mismo. Hindi lang basta dalaw na parang naligaw lang kami sa Pampanga. This is Pipaw's early birthday and Christmas gift for me kasi. Haggard lang kasi super late na kami. Originally, the plan was to leave Manila at around 4pm pero dahil late na rin nakapagstart 'ung aking hair reborn session. Heheheh..almost 7-8pm, we left Manila. Around 9pm nung makadating kami sa Pampanga. Buti na lang hindi traffic.

The h

ighlights of the event was held at the SM San Fernando Amphitheater. From afar, naririnig ko na 'yung music kaya di ko na napigilan. Mega takbo na kami at talagang nakipagsiksikan kami sa libu-libong tao na nandun para mapanood ung event.

Maraming tao na 'yung pauwi. I felt like the competition's over, waiting for the results na lang ang drama. Pero kahit na, we're eager to move closer to the parols kahit na 'yung tira na lang ang mapanood.

Good thing, sa dami ng tao dun, may mga people na may good heart na nagpasampa samin sa truck. Chance for me to steal great shots of the giant lanterns. Mejo malayo nga lang pero OK lang. Na-feature naman 'yung dami ng tao. Ahahahah..thank goodness kasi feeling ko nasa pedestal kami nung panahong ito. Nabigyan kami ng special privelege kasi para kaming part ng media sa dala naming camera at tripod. ahaha..naka-peke. =)

This year, 8 barangays joined the competition to show-off their craftsmanship, namely: Brgy. Dolores, San Juan, San Nicolas, San Felipe, Telabastagan, Santa Lucia, Sto. Nino, and Del Pilar. It is actually a community effort wherein the entire barangay helped in working with these lanterns, from the concept of the design to the construction and labor. Sabi ni Pipaw, this is not done for the cash prize alone, but for the barangays' pride and honor.

2007 Giant Lantern Festival


Winner: Brgy. Telabastagan Telabastagan garnered an average score of 96.5%

2nd Runner-up: Brgy. San Felipe close to Brgy. Telebastagan's score, 95.7%

3rd Runner-up: Brgy. San Nicholas

After ng in-announce yung winners, tuloy na sa hinintay ng marami, FIREWORKS DISPLAY!

Bago kami umalis, we took a photo of Brgy. Del Pilar's parol. Proud Pipaw posed sa harap ng malaking parol na ito. Taga-dito siya, Brgy. del Pilar.

According to her, sa lahat ng laban ng barangay nila, laging kasama nito ang Patron ng Barangay. Ito siya:

Later, we went to SM Pampanga for a super late dinner. The closest we've found was Dencio's since andami daming tao. Siksikan to the max. Ito 'yung photo na kinunan habang naglalakad kami papuntang SM. Konti ng tao, no? hehehe..

Ayun, finally, kainan na! =)

Tiring, pero masaya sobra! Heheheh..aliw na aliw ako sa mga parol, aliw na aliw ako sa mga tao. Hehehe..halos lahat sila nagkakapampangan, di ko sila maintindihan. Gang tingin lang ako tsaka kinig kinig. Para akong alien!

Ehem! Tsk..Let me take this opportunity to give credits to Pipaw. Naks. Effort to the max and I'm happy kasi naging sobrang patient ka with me. Hahah..himala un a! Sobrang konti kasi ng pasencia nyan e. In fairness, matagal tagal din ang inantay mo. Thank you kasi hindi ako feeling matanda ngayon. Saya talaga maging bata. Nakakatuwa. Proximity wise, ano dapat distance natin?? ahahahah..peace! Basta, thankyou po..sobra! I appreciate it! From the bouquet, sa jacket, sa customized card, for bringing me here, umm..ano pa ba? Ah..most of all, sa PATIENCE! Blue ang moon huh! heheheh..mwah!

♥ ♣ ☺ ♥ ☺ ♣ ♥