Every August, in conjunction with the province of Cebu’s founding anniversary, a large celebration known as Pasigarbo sa Sugbo is held to highlight the various cultural and dance presentations participated by Cebu cities and provinces. “Pasigarbo sa Sugbo” (Pride of Cebu), a festival akin to Sinulog, commemorates the province of Cebu’s establishment. It was started in 2008, under Governor Gwen Garcia’s efforts to promote tourism.
Similar to Sinulog and other significant national celebrations, Pasigarbo sa Sugbo also features a festival queen competition, battle of the dance rituals and street dancing. Here is the list of festivals of each municipalities.
Here are the “Pasigarbo” list of festivals for each localities
Alegria – Kawayan Festival
The Kawayan Festival revolves around the significance of bamboo as the main source of livelihood of the locals. Through vibrant performances, colorful parades and bamboo-themed displays, the festival showcases the town’s strong connection to this versatile material. The rhythmic chant “Que Alegre, Alegria!” echoes throughout the festivities, symbolizing the town’s exuberance and positivity.
Alcantara – Bahandi Festival
Alcantara’s abundant marine resources and fertile lands are said to be the wealth or the “bahandi” of the people. The Bahandi Festival is a celebration of good life, good harvest, merrymaking and thanksgiving.
Alcoy – Siloy Festival
The Siloy Festival emphasizes the message of environmental protection to create awareness of the surviving population of the endangered black shama or siloy, Cebu’s endemic bird that prevails in Alcoy’s forests.
Aloguinsan – Kinsan Festival
Aloguinsan took its name from “ulo sa kinsan” or head of the kinsan. Kinsan is a type of fish abundant in Aloguinsan waters. The Kinsan Festival is an ode to the town’s fishermen who benefit from the abundance of kinsan.
Argao – La Torta Festival
The La Torta Festival celebrates Argao’s most esteemed and cherished delicacy, the torta, a distinctive symbol of the town’s rich cultural heritage and remarkable Spanish influence. It manifests the Argawanon hospitality and generosity as the torta is offered to guests and members of the family — all these in veneration of San Miguel Archangel.
Asturias – Lalin Festival
The Cebuano word “lalin” refers to a settlement event in which people immigrated from other regions. People from the neighboring islands of Negros and Bohol were considered the first settlers of Asturias, originally called “naghalin” during the Spanish era.
Bantayan – Palawod Festival
“Palawod” means to go out to the far reaches of the ocean to harvest its bounty. It is an invitation to faith as expressed through talents and skills, prayers, songs, dreams and ambitions.
Borbon – Tuba Festival
One of Borbon’s main livelihoods is the production of “tuba” or coconut wine, a sweet, fresh or mildly fermented sap taken from tapping the young expanded flowers of the coconut. It is sold directly to the market. This very delicious wine is offered to guests during special occasions.
Compostela – Queseo Festival
The Queseo Festival showcases the local cheese or “queseo” produced from carabao’s milk, cooked naturally to produce a soft white cheese that goes well with biscuits and bread. This age-old tradition and product of mountain farms has always been the pride of Compostela.
Badian – Banig Festival
Banig weaving is a precise and time-honored technique in Badian. Each banig is a work of art, with patterns and designs meticulously crafted by the skillful hands of the weavers. The weaving technique necessitates patience, precision and an intimate knowledge of the natural fibers used.
Balamban – Lingaw Sadya Festival
Lingaw Sadya come from the words “lingaw” meaning enjoy and “sadya” meaning lively. The festival depicts the character and personality of the people of Balamban. They always look at the bright side of things. They are fond of enjoyment and happiness and always find a reason to rejoice.
Barili – Panumod Festival
Barili is also known for its Mantalongon livestock market, the largest of its kind in the Visayas region and one of Barili’s highest income earners. It was in the mid-1920s when it became the center of the large “Thursday market day.” It is primarily an agricultural town with corn, rice, coconut, fish and mangoes as its prime produce, giving birth to its festival, the Panumod Festival, in honor of its patron St. Anna.
Boljoon – Bolho Festival
“Bolho” means water sprouts. This is regarded in Boljoon as a copious gift from nature, which refers to the copiousness of the town’s rich cultural legacy and lovely location.
Bogo – Kuyayang Festival
Bogo City is home to the unique courting dance known as Kuyayang. The Kuyayang chronicles the story of Bogohanons’ early years. In the early years of Bogo, after a hard day’s work, small gatherings of farmers, fisherman, and traders frequently ended in a joyful refrain of the Kuyayang.
Carcar – Kabkaban Festival
Kabkab is an endemic fern found in the City of Carcar. Depicting the richness and great passion in music, arts and culture, the leaf’s proliferation represents the Carcaranon’s love of music and the arts as an offering to the Venerable Msgr. Teofilo Camomot and St. Catherine of Alexandria.
Carmen – Sinulog sa Carmen
Legends passed down through generations have spun tales of the conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi landing on the shores of Barangay Luyang, where he gifted an image of Señor Sto. Niño to the people of Luyang. The people’s devotion to the Sto. Niño grew as the centuries passed after they witnessed miracles that spared their settlement from the harsh forces of nature and from invaders.
Catmon – Budbod Kabog Festival
The most well-known food in Catmon is called Budbod Kabog, which is prepared from a millet variety called “kabog” that grows well in Catmon’s mountains. Every year on February 10 at the town’s festival, the Budbod Kabog Festival is held in honor of San Guillermo de Aquitania.
Consolacion – Sarok Festival
Celebrated on Consolacion’s founding anniversary, the Sarok Festival features the sarok, a conical hat made of bamboo strips and dried banana leaves. Considered a “panalipod sa uwan ug init” (shield from the rain and heat) and “kaabag sa panginabuhi” (helper in livelihood), the sarok is a representation of Consolacionanons’ resiliency, passion and resourcefulness.
Cordova – Dinagat Festival
The Dinagat Festival is an annual festivity during Cordova’s fiesta celebration in honor of the town’s patron saint, Señor San Roque. “Dinagat” is a Visayan term from the root word “dagat,” which means “sea.” It depicts the fishing tradition and the Cordovanhon’s way of life.
Daanbantayan – Haladaya Festival
“Haladaya” comes from two words, “halad” meaning offer or offering and “daya” which refers to the name of Datu Daya, believed to be the ruler of the first Malayan settlers of the place. Haladaya Festival basically means an offering to Datu Daya.
Dalaguete – Utanon Festival
The Utanon Festival is a festival of music and dance featuring high-value crops and vegetables, highlighting their contribution to the local economy, role in cultural diversity and significance as industry representative of Dalaguetnons as a people.
Danao – Karansa Festival
The winner last year, which is the delegation of the host city of this year — The Kabkaban Festival — achieved a historic back-to-back championship win.
Dumanjug – Bisnok Festival
Bisayang manok, which is what native chicken is called in Cebu, is the famous delicacy that the southwestern town of Dumanjug is known for. Bisayang manok is directly descended from the red junglefowl called “manok ihalas” in Cebuano.
Ginatilan – Hinatdan Festival
The term Ginatilan is associated with the word “hinatdan” derived from the Cebuano word “hatod” which defines bringing progress, giving care for nature, land and the seas and above all, the birth place and hometown of the second Filipino saint, San Pedro Calungsod.
Liloan – Rosquillos Festival
The Rosquillos Festival showcases the delicious pastry referred to as rosquillos. A favorite snack in Liloan, it is a cookie with a hole in the middle similar to a donut. The festival allows the municipality to promote its famous tourist spots.
Malabuyoc – Buyoc Festival
Buyoc Festival features a dance depicting the celebration of harvest through a traditional method of cooking called “buyoc” where the freshest corn grains are poured on boiling water inside a clay pot called “colon” until the mixture becomes dried or “mala” in Cebuano and ready to serve.
Madridejos – Isda Festival
The Isda Festival celebrates the abundance and diversity of marine life that has provided livelihood for the locals and made Madridejos known as the “Little Alaska of the Philippines.” Isda Festival pays homage to Madridejos patron saint Immaculate Concepcion.
Mandaue – Panagtagbo Festival
The Panagtagbo Festival is an adaptation of the traslacion or the transfer of the image of the Holy Child from the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño to St. Joseph Church in Mandaue City. “Panagtagbo” is a Cebuano term for meeting or gathering of the Holy Family which is celebrated every third Friday of January in line with the celebration of the Fiesta Señor.
Moalboal – Kagasangan Festival
Moalboal, with its underwater paradise due to the beautiful, colorful interlacing of seawater animals and corals locally termed “kagasangan,” captivates and entices divers around the globe. Moalboal is indeed a haven for divers.
Minglanilla – Sugat Kabanhawan Festival
A festival that shows great religious devotion to the Savior, the Lord Jesus, this is the Easter feast of the resurrection. Minglanillahanons and devotees from all corners of Cebu congregate before the dawn of Easter Sunday.
Medellin – Katubhan Festival
Medellin is an agricultural municipality with sugarcane or “tubo” as the main crop. Sugarcane farming is one of the main sources of livelihood of the local folks. With this, the organizers had more than enough reason to transform the Medellin Sinulog Festival into the Medellin Katubhan Festival.
Naga – Dagitab Festival
The Dagitab Festival covers six aspects: light, progress, industry, tourism, economic development and employment. Dagitab is a Cebuano term which means light or electricity. The Dagitab dance involves body movements that depict the sparkle and continued illumination of light in vibrant colors and sizes.
Oslob – Toslob Festival
In celebration of the town’s annual fiesta, the Toslob Festival is a form of merrymaking and thanksgiving for the blessings received throughout the year from the town’s patroness, the Immaculate Conception. Toslob means to “soak,” which refers to how the town of Oslob got its name.
Pilar – Pamugsay Festival
“Pamugsay” is taken from the word “bugsay,” a wooden paddle used to row a boat or banca, which is also used by fishermen for fishing. The Pamugsay Festival gives credit to Pilar’s ancestors and the present-day Pilaranons, for whom fishing is a primary source of livelihood, since Pilar town on Ponson Island is surrounded by the sea.
Pinamungajan – Pamuhuan Festival
It is a celebration of the vast resources that Pinamungajan Municipality has access to due to its fertile land and fertile sea. This is depicted through, among other things, the annual colorful street dance.
Poro – Panagbagat Festival
The Panagbagat is a festival of union and unification. It commemorates the purposeful meeting and peaceful agreement of the warring tribes of Tag-anito from the west and the Maktang tribe from the east under the wise counsel of panganuron. Today, the Panagbagat Festival is a creative and festive event celebrating the Porohanon’s keen understanding of the importance of unity, oneness and togetherness.
Ronda – Humba Festival
Humba or braised pork belly is a Filipino recipe and a famous delicacy in Ronda. Humba de Ronda is made simply by adding soy sauce, sugar and garlic to pork, cooking it until the pork becomes so tender that it melts in your mouth.
San Francisco – Soli-soli Festival
The Soli-soli Festival is celebrated because of the soli-soli, a type of grass that grows abundantly beside San Francisco’s Lake Danao. This grass can be used to make a variety of products such as bags, banig, hats and other weaved products which serves as the primary livelihood of the people of San Francisco.
Samboan – Dagayday Festival
The Dagayday Festival is a festival based on the notion that water is the basis of life and that it is man’s responsibility to preserve this priceless resource. The Samboan people and its entire ecosystem, from ridge to reef, have benefited greatly from the fluidity of the kinetic energy coming from its numerous waterfalls.
Sogod – Panagsogod Festival
The essence of beginnings in everything is captured by the Panagsogod Festival. In Cebuano, “Sogod” refers to the beginning or beginnings. It was in this town that the first parish was built, beginning the wave of Christianity in northern Cebu, according to two widely accepted traditions about the origin of the town’s name. Additionally, this is the point at where the white sand of the north starts and the black sand of the south ends.
San Fernando – Sikoy-Sikoy Festival
Sikoy-sikoy is a colloquial term for “panikoy,” a fishing method practiced by Sanfernandohanon fishermen by throwing nets even in rough and sturdy waves. Through the years, the term sikoy-sikoy has been adapted by the locals to mean the group of fish caught through this fishing practice.
San Remigio – Lapayahan Festival
Derived from the Cebuano-Visayan word “lapyahan,” which literally means shoreline, the general theme of the vibrant festival revolves around a razzmatazz of culture, history and the sea.
Santa Fe – Panuhog Festival
“Panuhug” is a Santafehanon term associated with the art of stringing shell beads together and shell crafting. Panuhug became a major source of living for Santafehanons. Some proceeds derived from it helped to fund educational pursuits of the locals, thereby making them successful members of society.
Santander – Tostado Festival
The Tostado Festival dance is characterized by its basic steps in making tostado cookies, such as “batil” for mixing, “ligis” for kneading, hulma for cutting and horno for baking celebrated every third Saturday of April as a fiesta highlight on ante-vesperas, in honor of Santander’s patron saint, St. Gabriel the Archangel.
Tabogon – Sanggi Festival
Sanggi Festival is intended to showcase the socio-cultural and religious aspects of the lives of the Taboganons. Sanggi Festival contains activities related to farming, which are “pamugas” or sowing, “sanggi” or harvesting, and “pasalamat” or thanksgiving. Sanggi begins with sweat but ends with tears of joy and gratitude.
Tabuelan – Ani-anihan Festival
Ani-anihan Festival, derived from the word “ani” which means harvest, is Tabuelan’s artistic demonstration of immense joy and enthusiasm in gratitude to God, through the intercession of patron saint John the Baptist, for the town and its people’s sustainable bountiful agri-crop production.
Toledo – Hinulawan Festival
Hinulawan Festival is a fusion of cultural dances depicting the colorful past and present of Toledo City starting from the pintados, pre-Spanish, rural, and neo-ethnic to the modern Toledo eras. Toledo City used to be named Hinulawan for its rich gold, copper and other mineral resources. Hinulawan is a contraction of the Cebuano words “Hinaguang Bulawan” or hard-earned gold.
Tudela – Katunggan Festival
Tudela has introduced a new festival to represent its town. The Katunggan Festival celebrates Tudela’s katunggan or mangroves that protect the town from natural calamities and provide livelihood to the townsfolk due to the abundance of shellfish and other sea creatures lurking within its mangrove forests.
Tuburan – Tubod Festival
“Tuburan” comes from the Cebuano word “tubod,” meaning spring. Due to its abundance of springs, Tuburan celebrates the Tubod Festival every 13th of June in honor of the town’s patron, St. Anthony de Padua.
Sibonga – Bonga Festival
A joyful celebration of thankfulness for the town’s abundant natural and food resources, the Bonga Festival is held every year on Oct. 12. “Bonga” is a transcription of the English word for fruit or, for a more general definition, harvest.
Talisay – Halad Inasal Festival
The City of Talisay is considered the Lechon Capital of Cebu and arguably has one of the best lechons in the Philippines. Lechon is also commonly known in Cebuano as Inasal. The Halad Inasal Festival is celebrated during the feast of Talisay’s patron saint, Sta. Teresa de Avila.
Year and hosted
The 2023 event was hosted in the City of Carcar. See also The New Carcar Sports Complex.
The 2022 was held in Cebu City Sports Center
More of each Municipalities
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