The city abloom




Dagmay weaving

We have crowned our beauty queens – the girl and the gay, the crowd took to the streets dancing and exhibited the exotic jive of the region, every food joint is showcasing their must-taste culinary creations, the Kadayawan 2012 is having a fantastic run.

This time of the year, the city is in bloom, and I am not referring only to the flowers -- the culture of the our ten tribes take center stage, the fruit harvest is bountiful, and the townsfolk is in their festival vibe welcoming everyone who’s taking part in one of the most happening festivity in Davao.

Today is the final day of the 3-day celebration of the Kadayawan and there is no better way to end it than dressing Davao with the brightest colors of the country’s most exotic blooms and parade it along the streets of the metro in its extravagance.

In any festival, it’s best to take part in all its splendor. Local or not, give up your lazy Sunday mode, don the Kadayawan spirit aand head out to where you ca still grab a piece the action.

The floral parade can be fun and offers megapixels of worthwhile photo-ops. August is said to be the time of the year when plants are prolific in its blooms so this parade is a must-see.

For the must-eat, restaurants around town are offering their festival cuisine plus great deals on cost. But if you want to head to a one-stop food fiesta where Davao’s best must-try is offered, head to TRUST Home Depot at Ecoland Drive/Quimpo Boulevard (298-7878, 295-3588) where the they are hosting Pofta Buna’s the “Unique Eats and Shabby Treats”, a traveling food fiesta with homemaker’s essentials on the side.

If shopping is your thing, then the Mindanao Trade Expo is a must-go to (which you can wait for in next year’s presentation since it only ran until the 16th). This long-running trade show presents the region’s arts, crafts and food that are exported. This is the best place and time to shop for these goodies. Unless, you want to get them in some fancy boutique’s shelf where prices have been bloated.

Earlier, these are the finds I took fancy in. Osvaldo’s (0919-291-5008) creatively designed and tasty confections, 


Osvaldo's (I call this his Carrie Bradshaw cake. So SATC!)


Crystal Seas’ (284 2804 /244 1805) stylish minaudieres and totes,







Maria Vinecrafts’ (221-0417) home collection was such nice to see back in the scene, 





AG Nutricauticals’ (0905-352-4156) VCO Organic Massage Oil was a discovery,





the handmade papers of TADECO Livelihood (234-0586/235-2135) are fantastic (as usual). 




This region truly produces world-class products.






There is just no excuse to staying home on this last day of the festival. The next two days has been declared a holiday and you can rest on those days.

Happy Kadayawan to everyone!

For more lifestyle & travel stories, visit http://apples-and-lemons.blogspot.com/ and http://jeepneyjinggoy.blogspot.com/ 

Published in Sun.Star Davao on August 19, 2012.