IBA, Zambales—Zambales is set to deliver this April what is touted to be a “revenge event”—the biggest, liveliest and most exciting mango festival in history following three years of visiting restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane said the provincial government and various community organizations are busy preparing for the 2023 Zambales Dinamulag Mango Festival, which features at least 16 major cultural, tourism and sports events in nine days.
“We expect more visitors coming to the festival this year because we have activities that would appeal to a wide range of audience,” Ebdane said over the weekend. “And Zambales is more than ready for them. That’s what we have been doing for the past two months—planning and preparing for this big event,” he added.
The festivity will center on the world’s sweetest mango fruit, a local pride validated by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1995.
The Dinamulag Festival, which gets its name from the sweet and succulent carabao mango variety in Zambales, will highlight the rich agricultural resources, as well as farm tourism attractions through the Parayawan Agri-Tourism Showcase and Trade Fair. This will open at the festival grounds near the provincial capitol on April 28.
To promote the local mango industry, the festival will also include the 1st Philippine Mango Derby Open House at the Batungbacal Far in Palauig, and the Luzon Mango Congress at the People’s Plaza in Botolan on April 28.
On the fun side, a “Mango Eat-All-You-Can” buffet will open also at the festival grounds beginning April 28 to give mango lovers a chance to savor the juicy sweetness of local mangoes at just P150 for 30 minutes. Various mango-eating challenges will be staged in the same venue.
Meanwhile, the Zamba-Liwanag Float Parade & Competition will feature float entries depicting the bountiful harvest of Zambales mangoes, as well as the unique attractions, and heritage and traditions in the community.
More mango-inspired folk presentations will be seen during the Zambayle Street Dancing Parade & Showdown on April 29, as street-dance groups from Zambales towns compete for top prize in one of the biggest purses offered during the Dinamulag Festival.
Visitors can also experience mango-picking at various farms from April 24 to May 5.
According to the Zambales Tourism Office, this year’s festivity will officially kick off with the 1st Gov. Jun Ebdane Cup Fun Shoot, April 21-23 at Camp Conrado Yap in the capital town of Iba.
More action-filled events: “Pulayo ha Dinamulag Festival” marathon with 3km, 5km, 10km, 21km, and 40 km categories on April 24; Mountain Bike Fun Ride in Iba on April 25; “Lumba Tamo” Road Bike Race that will swing from Subic to Sta. Cruz and back to Iba on April 27; and Gov. Jun Ebdane 4×4 Off-Road Challenge in Iba, and Gov. Jun Ebdane Motocross Challenge in Botolan on April 29 to 30.
On the other hand, the Binibining Zambales Pageant, which is a festival mainstay, will have this year’s reiteration beginning April 26 with the presentation of candidates and talent night at the festival grounds. This will be followed by swimwear competition on April 27 and the grand coronation night on April 30.
Fireworks display following the pageant coronation will cap the nine-day mango festival.
Image credits: Henry Empeño
