Philippine Tourism 7,107

The Viva Vigan Festival is celebrated every first week of May in the historical town of Vigan,
Ilocos Sur.
The main attraction is a Calesa Parade and Contest. A calesa is a horse-drawn carriage and the much
preferred mode of transportation in Vigan for newcomers and tourist. The parade features 100 calesas
beautifully decorated with indigenous materils like tha Abel Iloko (native handwoven cloth of Vigan),
Burnay (Vigan jars), agricultural products and processed foods like longanisa, bagnet and rice cakes.

There’s also the Binatbatan Street Dancing Contest were dancers wear colorful, innovative costumes
and props. Binatbatan is an Ilocano fold dance. “Batbat” is the first process in making the Iloko
Abel. The street dancing depicts the long standing way the Ilocanos beat the cotton pods with
two bamboo sticks to separate the seeds from the fluff called “batbat”.

Other activities are the ramada games, Santacruzan, religious rituals, food fairs and exhibits.