Celebrating Pagdihon

Dingle, Iloilo will celebrate its 10th Pagdihon Festival on October 25-31, 2018. The annual festival forms part of the core aspects of the town’s culture and is woven tightly into its overall cultural identity.

The theme of this year’s festival is “Pagdihon: A Celebration of Life, Culture and Environmental Conservation.“ With fun-filled activities daily during its week-long festivity, Pagdihon will open on October 25 (Thursday) with One Dance, One Music/ Float Parade and Competition/ Sponsored Mardi-Gras/ Opening Program/ Agri Fair and Live Band;  October 26 (Friday) is Senior Citizen’s Day/ Laro ng Lahi (Open Stage)/ Blood-Letting and Leadership Training/ Live Band; October 27 (Saturday) highlights the Street Dancing and Dance Drama Competition/ Environmental Day and Clean-Up Program/ Alcoholics Night;

October 28 (Sunday) Cry of Lincud/ Mountain Bike Competition/ Fireworks Competition/ Live Band. October 29 (Monday) Boy and Girl Scout Day; Farmer’s/ Coop Day and Teacher’s Night. October 30 (Tuesday) Mass Church Wedding and Miss Pagdihon; October 31 ( Wednesday) Trick or Treat/ Parade of Costumes/ Horror Night Competition/ Awarding/ DJ Foam Party with Back-to-Back Live Band.

For many people, the little they know of Dingle and its people comes from media coverage of Bulabog Puti-an. Dingle is so much more than that. Its beating heart is filled with the treasures emanating from a deep well of artistic creativity. The annual Pagdihon Festival shares some of this culture with the people of Iloilo.

The Festival is the cultural heritage of Dingle, the town that the Dingleanons call home. Memories of home shine through the cultural performances, the centerpiece of the annual celebration.

The much-anticipated dance-drama presentation highlights Gen. Adriano Hernandez, the central figure of the celebration, is a Visayan general, military strategist and patriot who secretly organized a rebel movement in Iloilo against the Spaniards and staged the first armed uprising in the Province in Barrio Lincud, Dingle. The event was known as the "Cry of Lincud" that happened in October 28, 1898.

For Dingleanons, celebrating Pagdihon is important because it acts as a way to preserve their local history. The festival is an excellent opportunity for intercultural exchange and understanding amongst Dingleanons, both kids and adults learn more about their culture and it functions to strengthen their sense of community.

The municipality of Dingle is 37 kilometers away from Iloilo City. It is bounded in the northeast by Anilao; northwest by San Enrique; southeast by Pototan and Barotac Nuevo; and southwest by Duenas. It is subdivided by 33 barangays distributed around its 7,750 hectare land area.

To get to the town, jeepneys and vans are available at the Northern Central Iloilo Transport Terminal, Inc. in Barangay Tagbak, Jaro, Iloilo City. For more information, please contact, Dane Dizon – Municipal Tourism Officer at 09983091262.

TUMANDOK: Attractions, Products, Culture of Iloilo

Watch out for the 14th year of Tumandok coming this September 19-23, 2018 from 10am-9pm at the Fountain Area Robinsons Place Iloilo Main Mall along Mabini-Ledesma Streets. This is a premier tourism event consistently held every September in celebration of Tourism Month.

Tumandok, is local Hiligaynon term means “a native of,” is the annual tourism month celebration of Iloilo Province that will bring together attractions, products and culture in which participating municipalities of Iloilo province partner with tourism students from different tourism universities in the city.

This year, the event will bring together the towns of Oton, Tigbauan, Guimbal, Igbaras, Miagao, San Joaquin, Leon, Pavia, Leganes, Sta. Barbara, Cabatuan, Badiangan, Calinog, Duenas, Passi City, San Enrique, Concepcion, Estancia and Carles with the students of Hotel and Restaurant Technology Department of the Iloilo Science and Technology University, Lapaz Campus, Iloilo City.

Tumandok will be featuring cultural performances from the College of PESCAR of WVSU on the opening day, September 19 (Wednesday) at 4 p.m.; September 20 (Thursday) Piannica Anklung from Sta. Barbara; September 21 (Friday) Hablon Fashion Show featuring the candidates of Miss Iloilo Tourism; September 22 (Saturday) WVSU College of PESCAR and, September 23 (Sunday) Tumandok Fashion featuring the HRT students of ISAT University.

Tumandok is the marketplace for travelers from Iloilo. Buyers benefit from a comprehensive range of products and services throughout the province. It offers a plethora of attractions, destinations and products wanting to place their foothold in the Ilonggo market.

The event is very informative. It showcases the many tourism potentials of Iloilo as the emerging tourist destination for nature and sports adventure, cultural heritage, culinary, and the arts.

Tumandok has given participating LGUs a platform to meet new customers, to reach out to existing clientele, and to build their more established and reliable tourism brand for their town.

Organized by Office of Culture, Arts, History and Tourism of the Iloilo Provincial Government, the Department of Tourism VI, Robinsons Place Iloilo and in partnership with ISAT University, the Iloilo Tourism Officers Association, Inc., Tinukib, DOST and DTI, the five-day travel and product fair continues to be an important medium for local government units to carry out their mission, to be a catalyst for community development.

Iloilo Province Celebrates Tourism Month with Tumandok

Tourism Month---taking place at the fountain area of Robinsons Iloilo main mall on September 19-23, 2018---celebrates Tumandok, Iloilo’s most progressive tourism-oriented event by bringing together the destinations, attractions, product and cultural presentations that have always made Iloilo such an exciting and vibrant destination.

Tumandok, an annual Tourism Month celebration organized by the Office of Culture, Arts, History and Tourism of the Iloilo Provincial Government invests in marketing Iloilo Province. Coined from a Hiligaynon term for “a native of a place,” Tumandok features all that is Iloilo; its attractions and destinations, product and culture.

The tourism industry is unlike any other because, instead of selling a product, you are selling a place and all the things it has to offer. You are competing with the entire world every time you promote tourism in a given destination, and this high level of competition demands a creative and unique approach. To be successful, your marketing should constantly put forth the best possible image of your destination, while creating interest on a broad scale in as many ways as possible.

Events play a strong role in increasing destination awareness and intention to visit. They can be the reason for visitors to “act now” and book travel; they also encourage repeat visitation for those looking for something new and different.

Conceptualized and developed primarily to enhance awareness, appeal and profitability of  Iloilo Province as tourist destination, Tumandok has become the collective representation of an event which can showcase the best of that Iloilo can offer in terms of tourism. Marketing activity includes promotion of existing and emerging destinations and significant investment in partnership campaigns jointly implemented by The Department of Tourism VI and Robinsons Place Iloilo.

Tumandok, organized in 2004 is the marketplace for new and/ or repeat visitors to Iloilo with the objective of:

a   a. Creating, enhancing and increasing awareness of Iloilo Provinces’ domestic tourism by  

         providing proper information to visitors; 

b   b. Building and/ or improving a corporate image or brand for every town and for the 

         province as a whole;

c   c. Increasing annually the volume of tourist traffic and investments for the province;

d  d. Encouraging proactive participation and involvement by all stakeholders including 

        government bodies, private sector, tourism organizations, local communities, academic 

        institutions, youth clubs etc. at all stages of tourism life cycle;

e  e. Preserving and enhancing local culture, art, handicrafts, etc;

f.   f.    Introducing tourism product innovations;

g g. Supporting local tourism products.

Tumandok’s uniqueness lies in the fact that tourism students from different academic institutions in the city and province were utilized to market and promote Iloilo’s tourism offerings.

Robinsons Place Iloilo has continuously involved in supporting government institution initiatives. Every year, the mall hosts and partakes in local promotional initiatives and activities which help students and supports LGUs‘ tourism campaign.

Tumandok has provided a sense of identity not just as a tourism event for Iloilo Province but for the participating LGUs. Establishing their presence to the event has given them a platform to meet new customers, to reach out to existing clientele, and to build their more established and reliable tourism brand for their town.

The annual Tourism Month celebration is brought to you this year by Robinsons Place Iloilo, ISAT University, Iloilo Tourism Officers Association, Inc., Tinukib and DOST.

Designers to Watch at Fiber Fashion

Iloilo’s fashion industry is getting big and overflowing with talent that we are always on the lookout for new talent among fashion designers.

The Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair has been an annual launch pad for young talented Ilonggo fashion designers over the past years. As the Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair returns to SM City Iloilo on August 24-26, 2018 at the north wing, here are designers to have on your radar.

DARYL AMAR. This Leon-based designer is known for his sumptuous, yet very elegant designs. Detailed embellishment is something you will see a lot of on his creations and he knows just how to use it without going overboard. On his second year as featured designer for the annual Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair, Amar is set to feature his collections for Prima, in rich, opulent colors and textures for a woman who likes to make an entrance. Amar is a graduate in Fashion Design and Merchandising at ISAT-University.

MARK ARNEL GACHO. A native of Oton, Iloilo will make his debut with the annual fashion fair showcasing his designs for Preciosa on the opening day on August 24 at 5:30 p.m. Gacho will create an entire collection built around relaxed, low-key dressing. His ability to make casualwear look so effortless, flirty and appeals to the more adventurous fashionistas has been the trademark of his pieces. Gacho earned his degree in Bachelor of Science Major in Medical Laboratory Science at the University of San Agustin in 2016.

KEVIN HIBALLES. From Calinog, Iloilo, the designer will unveil his designs for Hablon Moda on August 25 at 6:30 p.m. For the second time around in this annual fiber fashion fair, the designer will feature his unique and eye-catching pieces with a superb blend of the traditional with the modern and you will not go wrong by having his designs in your wardrobe. The focus of his designs is on wearability and elegance. Hiballes is a graduate in Fashion Design and Merchandising at ISAT-University.

FRIETZ VON PAMPLONA. A native of Leon, Iloilo, will showcase his edgy fashion pieces the second time around for the annual fiber fashion fair with Anyag on August 24 at 6:30 p.m. His solo show will be the perfect time to push his fashion philosophy into the spotlight and display its full range of offerings---fun and feminine incorporated into new shapes and silhouettes. Pamplona is a graduate in Fashion Design and Merchandising at ISAT-University.

The rich and varied traditions of Ilonggo hand-loom textiles  will take centerstage for the 11th Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair opening on August 24 (Friday) and will feature MARC ARNEL GACHO for PRECIOSA at 5:30 p.m. ANYAG at 6:30 p.m. will have FRIETZ VON PAMPLONA.

August 25 (Saturday) with HABOL MIAGAOWANON featuring the candidates of Little Miss Hablon and the ladies of Lin-ay sang Hablon of the municipality of Miagao at 5:00 p.m. and KEVIN HIBALLES for HABLON MODA at 6:30 p.m.

August 26 (Sunday) will feature the top student designers from the BS Fashion Design and Merchandising of Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U) for HABOL ANINIPAY with Fritz Caancan, Johnrey Cayanan, Rheuvien Palmes, Migz Saracho, Matt Yeu, Annie Canonaso, Lorlor Aguilar, Paul Encio and Jay Elabra at 5:00 p.m. and closing the event is DARYL AMAR for PRIMA at 6:30 p.m.

The annual Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair is organized by the Iloilo Provincial Tourism Office, Department of Tourism and SM City Iloilo and also brought to you by the municipalities of Miagao, Oton, Badiangan, Igbaras and Duenas with the Fashion and Design Merchandising Department of ISAT-University, the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions Office, John Montinola, Iloilo Models Guild (IMG), RCLS, and The Daily Guardian.

Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair: Presenting Iloilo’s Hand-loom Potential

Iloilo has the potential to emerge as a major regional destination for hand-loom and hand-woven textiles and apparels as well as other niche products.  Iloilo produces some of the country’s finest Hablon and Patadyong with well-established and professional clusters and a longstanding tradition of hand-loom weaving.

The annual Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair organized by the Office of Culture, Arts, History and Tourism, the Department of Tourism Regional Office and SM City Iloilo has brought unique opportunities to explore hand-loom weaving by sourcing in a new and innovative way.  The organizers see this program as potentially an incubator for re-introducing and re-educating the Ilonggos of our local fabrics, finding mainstream consumers that purchase our local fabrics and would like to see that interest extend after the event.

Slowly, Iloilo has emerged favorite domestic and regional destination for handloom and hand-woven textiles and apparels. Homes and innovative weaving centers for spinning and weaving shelters a work force that has been producing fabrics that are highly sought-after.

Though the handloom sector is relatively smaller, in terms of organization and scale, many weaving groups are still challenged by the lack of product design and marketing skills and the lack of access to domestic, regional and international markets. Limited institutional support is also a challenge for some of the groups.

There is a need for our governments to allocate more funds to be used to support existing handloom clusters to enhance their productivity, product quality and design. There is also a need for collaboration with relevant partners, as well as with leading institutions to help weaving provinces and their communities to venture into new markets.

While Iloilo has a strong base of embroidery and beading artisans and painters, boasting of an innovative range of craft and textile-based products with embroidered or beaded surface ornamentation or fabric painting present an opportunity for the development of niche high value products. Enabling value addition would help them to transform Iloilo’s hablon and patadyong into a high-value premium product.

With a renewed emphasis on ethnic chic, the passion and interest nowadays is actually visiting and buying directly from the weavers. Many designers and hand-loom fabric advocates are going to Miagao, Oton, Badiangan, Duenas and Igbaras to interact and see weavers at work and have the chance to browse the shelves piled high with colorful neatly folded fabrics that will be turned into fashionable dresses, shawls, table cloths, bed covers and curtains.

The Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair is not just a place to market our hand-loomed products, but also a platform to celebrate weaving history in a unique way by showcasing the works of ordinary and extraordinary weavers of Iloilo, promoting the exploration of knowledge and ideas on weaving and providing an avenue for viewing and appreciation.

The 11th Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair will open on August 24 (Friday) and features MARC ARNEL GACHO for PRECIOSA at 5:30 p.m. ANYAG at 6:30 p.m. will have FRIETZ VON PAMPLONA.

August 25 (Saturday) with HABOL MIAGAOWANON featuring the candidates of Little Miss Hablon and the ladies of Lin-ay sang Hablon of the municipality of Miagao at 5:00 p.m. and KEVIN HIBALLES for HABLON MODA at 6:30 p.m.

August 26 (Sunday) will feature the top student designers from the BS Fashion Design and Merchandising of Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U) for HABOL ANINIPAY with Fritz Caancan, Johnrey Cayanan, Rheuvien Palmes, Migz Saracho, Matt Yeu, Annie Canonaso, Lorlor Aguilar, Paul Encio and Jay Elabra at 5:00 p.m. and closing the event is DARYL AMAR for PRIMA at 6:30 p.m.

The annual Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair is organized by the Iloilo Provincial Tourism Office, Department of Tourism and SM City Iloilo and also brought to you by the municipalities of Miagao, Oton, Badiangan, Igbaras and Duenas with the Fashion and Design Merchandising Department of ISAT-University, the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions Office, John Montinola, Iloilo Models Guild (IMG), RCLS, and The Daily Guardian.

Creative Careers Ahead for Young Ilonggo Fashion Designers

Fashion is a very fast-paced and exciting business, but it is also very competitive. To succeed you will need to be both highly skilled and highly talented.

In Iloilo, there are so many talented fashion designers right now, and it is surely tough to sort through them all. However, nine BS Fashion Design and Merchandising students of Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U) will prove their claim on the runway for the 11th Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair on August 24 – 26, 2018 at the north wing of SM City Iloilo.

Fritz Caancan, Johnrey Cayanan, Rheuvien Palmes, Migz Saracho, Matt Yeu, Annie Canonaso, Lorlor Aguilar, Paul Encio and Jay Elabra are determined to push their boundaries even further with emphasis on Ilonggo hand-loom fabric’s original quality. Coming from different towns and city in Iloilo, they will be creating their careers ahead with their debut segment Habol Aninipay for this year’s Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair.

These nine student-designers have long dreamt of a career in fashion design. They live and breathe for fashion and textiles. They sew your own designs and keep tabs on what the apparel industry is doing this season.

Fashion design is a very technical field that suits students who are highly creative and full of new ideas, but who are also precise in their sewing and measurements and have good attention to detail.

Their educational background with ISAT-University’s BS Fashion Design and Merchandising has required them with disciplines of traditional design and technical skill sets along with product development, and creative problem solving and commercial application skills.  providing students with a multifaceted educational experience.

The students-designers have developed their personal aesthetics, intellectual, analytical and technological abilities in their degree program of fashion designing and merchandising. Their course provided them with a multifaceted educational experience.

For Habol Aninipay, some of them will incorporate prints by creating simple designs, and others will have sexy but elegant and sophisticated lines. But all of them will focus their attention to details, with great thoughts invested into their designs and finishing of each garment. Now here are nine of the many young Ilonggo Designers fashion designers in Iloilo to watch out for.

The 11th Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair will open on August 24 (Friday) and features MARC ARNEL GACHO for PRECIOSA at 5:30 p.m. ANYAG at 6:30 p.m. will have FRIETZ VON PAMPLONA.

August 25 (Saturday) with HABOL MIAGAOWANON featuring the candidates of Little Miss Hablon and the ladies of Lin-ay sang Hablon of the municipality of Miagao at 5:00 p.m. and KEVIN HIBALLES for HABLON MODA at 6:30 p.m.

August 26 (Sunday) will feature the top student designers from the BS Fashion Design and Merchandising of Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U) for HABOL ANINIPAY with Fritz Caancan, Johnrey Cayanan, Rheuvien Palmes, Migz Saracho, Matt Yeu, Annie Canonaso, Lorlor Aguilar, Paul Encio and Jay Elabra at 5:00 p.m. and closing the event is DARYL AMAR for PRIMA at 6:30 p.m.

The annual Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair is organized by the Iloilo Provincial Tourism Office, Department of Tourism and SM City Iloilo and also brought to you by the municipalities of Miagao, Oton, Badiangan, Igbaras and Duenas with the Fashion and Design Merchandising Department of ISAT-University, the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions Office, John Montinola, Iloilo Models Guild (IMG), RCLS, and The Daily Guardian.

Celebrating the 11th Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair

With the aim of preserving our hand-loom weaving as a cultural heritage, the Office of Culture, Arts, History and Tourism of the Iloilo Provincial Government in collaboration with the Department of Tourism Regional Office and SM City Iloilo will again host the Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair 2018 at the north wing of SM City Iloilo from August 24 – 26.

The Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair is a one of a kind event, operating to provide a platform to local designers, weaving communities and entrepreneurs to showcase their collections, hand-loom textiles and hand-loom products emerging in fashion and apparel market.

Now on its 11th year of fashion, exhibition and demonstration, the show will feature the hand-loomed fabrics of Iloilo from the towns of Miagao, Oton, Badiangan, Duenas and Igbaras. Our handloom fabrics were rooted in Ilonggo culture, it would be a shame to see it gone.

Divided into two different segments daily, the indigenous fiber fashion show has a cohesive theme that annually captivates its audience and local designers wanting to showcase their designs. Every design featured in the show has its own individual look with attention to detail that really makes their collections memorable.

Opening the show on August 24 (Friday) will feature MARC ARNEL GACHO from Botong, Oton, Iloilo for PRECIOSA at 5:30 p.m. ANYAG, the second show at 6:30 p.m. welcomes FRIETZ VON PAMPLONA of Leon, Iloilo,

 August 25 (Saturday) will have HABOL MIAGAOWANON featuring the candidates of Little Miss Hablon and the ladies of Lin-ay sang Hablon of the municipality of Miagao at 5:00 p.m. Closing the show on the second day will be KEVIN HIBALES from Calinog, Iloilo with HABLON MODA at 6:30 p.m.

The last day on August 26 (Sunday) will feature the top student designers from the BS Fashion Design and Merchandising of Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U) for HABOL ANINIPAY with Fritz Caancan, Johnrey Cayanan, Rheuvien Palmes, Migz Saracho, Matt Yeu, Annie Canonaso, Lorlor Aguilar, Paul Encio and Jay Elabra at 5:00 p.m. and capping the annual celebration this year is DARYL AMAR of Leon, Iloilo for PRIMA at 6:30 p.m.

Every one of the featured Ilonggo designers in the last 11 years of fiber fashion created custom handloom wearables, and each piece dress is made here in the heart of Iloilo. Each outfit is made of the highest quality handloom fabric sourced from within the weaving communities in Iloilo. Every designer works at the highest level of professionalism to bring each piece the ultimate collection discovery experience.

The annual Indigenous Fiber Fashion Fair is also brought to you by The municipalities of Miagao, Oton, Badiangan, Igbaras and Duenas with the Fashion and Design Merchandising Department of ISAT-University, the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions Office, John Montinola, Iloilo Models Guild (IMG), RCLS, and The Daily Guardian.