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Kadayawan Execom. The 38th Kadayawan Executive Committee is composed of the City Government and Public Sector partners. (Photo courtesy of PIA XI) |
Every third week of August, Davao City holds the much-awaited “Kadayawan” Festival, dubbed as the festival of festivals, known for its grand celebrations such as street dancing, floral float parade, cultural festivities, street parties, and concerts.
The Kadayawan Festival is Davao City’s annual festival, which celebrates life and thanksgiving for nature’s bounty, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and serenity of living. The festival’s name is taken from the Mandaya word “Madayaw” which means “valuable”, “good” and “beautiful.”
It was said that during the olden times, the tribes living in the foothills of Mt Apo would hold a thanksgiving feast to thank the creator for their bountiful harvests.
The festival in its current form was first celebrated in 1986 as Apo Duwaling Festival, the name represents the city’s three icons: Mt Apo, Durian and the Waling-Waling orchid. In 1988 during the term of then newly elected City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, it was renamed as Kadayawan.
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Today, the festival highlights the rich and diverse cultures of the City’s 11 ethnolinguistic communities that include the Bagobo Tagabawa, Klata, Ata, Matigsalug, Obo Manuvu, Maguindanaon, Iranun, Sama, Tausug, Kagan and the Maranao.
This year’s 38th Kadayawan Festival aims to build on the gains set forth during last year’s 37th Kadayawan when it returned to the face-to-face celebration, after two years of being held digitally due to pandemic restrictions.
“We really expect tourists to come here to witness the 38th Kadayawan. We have a lot of activities in store for the Dabawenyos and for our tourists so we brought back the events we had in the 2019 Kadayawan,” said Kadayawan Festival spokesperson and 2nd District Councilor Al Ryan Alejandre.
The 2019 Kadayawan was the benchmark for the post-pandemic Kadayawan as it had registered the highest number of visitors for the festival. The City Tourism Operations Office recorded 250,000 visitors to Kadayawan in 2019.
Davao City Tourism Officer Jennifer Ricardo Romero said they are targeting 250,000 visitors for 2023 gauging the 2019 staging of the festival as a target to be met.
“Our target is really to hit pre-pandemic figure and that is 2019,” Romero said.
“Yes we will be bringing back the events held in 2019, which were not held in 2022 like Habi Kadayawan,” Romero said.
Habi Kadayawan is a fashion accessories design competition inspired by the rich and diverse cultures of the 11 ethno-linguistic groups in Davao City.
They will also be having Kasikas sa Kadayawan, which is a variety show featuring songs, dances and other performances.
The 2022 Kadayawan saw a trimmed-down festival as the city was just recovering from the ravages of the pandemic. The holding buoyed hopes for eventual recovery, particularly in the tourism sector.
The 2023 Kadayawan Festival will have a budget of P65 million, a noticeable increase from the P40 million budget in 2022.(Rudolph Ian Alama)
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