Masskara Festival
Bacolod is the main producer of sugar in the Philippines. This beautiful city comes alive for two whole weeks to celebrate the city’s charter anniversary.
 From October 1st through the 20th, Bacolod and its neighboring town gather together for annual festivities, called the Masskara Festival. This celebration has drawn other Asian countries and foreigners alike. It’s a main tourist attraction, not only in the city of Bacolod, but also for the whole country.
The first Masskara Festival was introduced to add some life to the usual military parade and awards ceremony that takes place every time the anniversary of the city comes. The locals in Bacolod city are full of life and always smiling, hence the name “City of Smiles.” So, they spiced it up a little.
Masskara means “many faces.” The masks that people wear to the festival have to be happy and smiling. They wear colorful costumes to go with their masks. There’s dancing and singing and a lot of beer drinking. They have a pig catching and pole-climbing competition.
The highlight of the Masskara Festival is the parade. Both men and women with their colorful dresses and smiling masks dance in the streets and having fun. Their masks are made of paper-mache or clay molds. Each group marches in front of the crowd and judges hoping to win prizes at the end of the day.
This festival boosts the tourism economy of the city, because tourists buy local handicrafts and orchids too.
The Masskara Festival has won recognitions from the International Tourism Festival, Chinggay Festival in Singapore, and the Midosuji Festival Parade in Osaka, Japan.
So, if you’re visiting the Philippines in October, make sure to check this out. It’s a lot fun and cheerful to watch.
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