Kadayawan 2013: Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan

August 17, 2013 - Kadayawan Festival is an annual event here in Davao City. It falls on the 3rd week of August. Prior to the major events, there are also series of mini-events held here in Davao for the celebration of Kadayawan Festival. This festival celebrates the colors of life, bountiful harvest and merry making among Davaoenos. The fruits such as durian, mangosteen, rambutan, lanzones, pomelo, etc. are available and abundant during the celebration.

Though there were major concerns before this celebration happened. There were bombings happened in other cities nearby and of course, we were scared that Davao might be included in the target list. There were times that Mayor Rodrigo Duterte wants to postpone the Kadayawan Festival due to bomb threats. But thankfully, during the opening of Kadayawan Festival at People's Park, he said that he wants to pursue the celebration no matter what. It just needs tighter security which means, more policemen and army from Task Force Davao to be deployed in the city streets. The end result: A peaceful and secured celebration of Kadayawan Festival.

August 17, 2013 was slated for Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan. It features Mindanaoan dances from different groups. There were 2 categories: Davao-based Category and Open Category. Overall, there were 23 contingents who joined the celebration.

And to add to my privilege, few days before the celebration, me and my friend were able to claim our photographer's pass which means, we are more prioritized and we can take better pictures anywhere we want. :D

Here are some of the pictures during the Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan: (Take note: I just used my trusted Canon Digicam for all of these photos.)

Before the Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan Celebration

This is how tight the security is. 

The celebration was successful and I felt secured at that time. It was also my first time to cover this event without my family since they also had their own activities as well. Despite the warnings, I braved through the streets and so do the spectators and photographers who want to take part of the festivities. This was one memorable event.

I didn't finish the whole event since I got so tired and I decided to meet my friend whom originally lived in Davao and currently staying in Manila. We had an awesome chit chat and the changes about Davao City. Afterwards, we went to Abreeza to have lunch at Bonchon Chicken and I attended the Coke Event while he went to G-Mall. After my event in Abreeza, me and my 2 blogger friends went to SM Lanang Premier to cover the concert of Erik Santos at the Fountain Court. All in all, I was in downtown like 16 hours! whew!

This was like the best day of my life and never experienced a Kadayawan Festival like this! Usually, we'll just witness the Indak-Indak then head home. Last year, I missed the event since I had to teach piano in our home. But this year, I never want to miss this and being out in the downtown for 16 hours was a big proof on how I missed the event so much! That was tons of fun! I hope to experience like this again next year and this time, I've got to invite my friends and be out in the downtown for just 18 hours! :D

Madayaw! Thanks for reading!