Buglasan Festival of Negros Oriental
Buglasan Festival, also known as “The Festival of Festivals”, is one of the most awaited festivals in Negros Oriental. It is celebrated in Dumaguete City, the capitol of the province in the middle of October.
In some old records the map of Negros was drawn by a man named Diego Lope Provedano way back in 1572 showing an island named Buglas Insulis. In order to honor Negros Oriental and what lie is in it, the celebration of Buglasan Festival was born.
The Buglasan Festival was established when all municipalities, towns and cities of Negros Oriental decided to unite as one happy Negrense family. This festival was based on not only uniting the people of Negros Oriental but also sharing and showcasing the different culture and traditions from Canlaon City in the north to the south of Bayawan City.
This week-long festival is composes of different competitions starting from show down competition, street dance competition to fireworks display competition. Events such as nightly cultural shows, food festival, trade fairs are also enjoyed by people during the Buglasan Festival.
The show down competition is yearly celebrated and held in the Lamberto Macias Sports & Cultural Complex in Dumaguete, while the street dances are showcased through the streets of National Road, Real Street and occasionally in the Rizal Boulevard. . The fairs and food trades are located in Freedom Park where concert shows and live bands are also played every night.
The search of the new Buglasan King and Queen and Miss Negros Oriental are one of the big highlights of this festival. The competitions of these pageants are usually held at the Convention Center or on the big stage in Freedom Park.
After a week-long celebration of merrymaking the Buglasan Festival is usually ended with a civic parade and a two-night fireworks display, which is also a competition to the participating municipalities, towns and cities.