Chinese New Year here in Bacolod City is not just celebrated on the eve of the Chinese New Year, instead it’s a week-long celebration marked by colorful and festive activities along the main streets of Bacolod City. Here in Bacolod, Chinese and Filipino relation is fortified thru the Bacolaodiat Festival. This year's Bacoloadiat Festival will happen from February 19-22, 2015.
It all started in 2006 when Tsinoys in Negros organized the first Bacolaodiat Festival with the aim of strengthening business and tourism in the city. Bacolaodiat came from the words Bacolod and Laodiat, the latter being the Fookien word for Celebration (Sinadya in Hiligaynon). The pre-event activities happening on February 14 will be centered on the Opening and Judging Giant Goat Lantern Making Contest happening at SM City Bacolod North Al Fresco.
The first day of the festival will happen on Chinese New Year day, February 19. Chinese costumes will be showcased during the Dazzling Grand Parade starting from Island Triangle, passing through 6th Street and will end at North Capitol Road. Tsinoys and Tsinays wearing their colorful costumes, and cute Tsinoy babies will surely capture your attention. Following is the Lantern Street Dance Competition along Lacson Tourism Strip participated by different public and private High Schools in Bacolod. Chinese schools are always the crowd's favorite.
Later that day, just right after dawn, there will be a Ceremonial Lighting of Chinese Lanterns along the North Capitol Road to give you a faultless China Town experience. After the lighting ceremony, spectators flock inside the event tents to take selfies and groupies. Curtains of hanging Chinese lanterns serve as a backdrop as they take their photos.
For the complete list of activities, you can refer to to this link: Bacolaodiat 2015 Schedule
After a long day of watching and taking of photos, your Chinese cultural experience will not be complete if you won’t try Chinese cuisine in Bacolod. Dubbed as the Chopstick Alley located at North Capitol Road, it will give you a wide range of both known and rare Chinese specialties catered by local Chinese restaurants and even homemade dishes prepared by Tsinay Negrenses.
They also have their Filipino counterparts situated along Lacson Street specializing in Negrense cuisine. Lacson Street will be filled with grill smoke, especially the distinct scent of our famous Chicken Inasal. At the background plays a piercing music that will surely set you into party mode.
For nature lovers, Mambukal Mountain Resort located in the Municipality of Murcia, just 25 minutes away from Bacolod City, is a perfect destination, Jeepney fare is just P30.00. Entrance fee for children is P20.00 and P50.00 for adults, Parking fee is between P15.00-3.000. If you’re planning to stay overnight, lodging is between P600.00-P1000.00 pesos, but if you’re only staying for the entire, day picnic huts are perfect for just P300.00-P600.00. You can rent tents as well if you love camping out. Other amenities are pool, spa, zipline, wall climbing, and boating on a man-made lagoon. If you want to experience nature for free, you can explore the seven different falls on top of the resort, a 10-15 minutes trek.
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Written by: Francis Biera Bacolod Regional Contributor, backpacker, hobbyist photographer, teacher | IG: @FindFrancisPH Edited By: Ramil Delos Reyes HQ Editor & Content Manager, Manila-based financial researcher, European languages specialist, traveler, foodie | IG: @pinasmuna Photos By: Francis Biera, Edgar Co, Ramil Delos Reyes |
Disclaimer: Official banner of Bacolaodiat 2015 provided by bacolaodiat.com | other photos owned by Francis Biera unless bearing the watermark of pinasmuna.com.
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