ARYA ABRA FESTIVAL
ARYA ABRA FESTIVALAbra ProvinceMarch 7-10
ARYA! ABRA FESTIVAL, a week-long celebration that coincides with
the founding anniversary of the Province of Abra, will be held from
March 6-10. This year the Arya Abra Festival will feature the
One-Town-One-Product program of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
to promote the products of the province. All the towns are expected
to come up with their own booth where they would display their
products in the trade fair.
Other activities include the usual karambola, horse race, the
Tingguian Festival, youth day, farmers day and veterans day
celebrations. This festival is a celebration of ABRA identity. ARYA
ABRA which means "Onward Abra!", was originally coined by Governor
Vicente P. Valera as his battle cry when he first sat as governor
of the province. It later evolved into the ARYA ABRA Festival in
celebration of ABRA Foundation day.Abra is a landlocked province of
the Philippines located in the Cordillera Administrative Region in
Luzon. The province is enclosed by the towering mountain ranges of
the Ilocos in the west and the Cordillera Central in the east. It
has an extremely rugged terrain, with mountains and hills rising
along its perimeter and interior. When you are in Abra, you can see
the sights of amazing and impressive stalagmites at the Libtec
Underground River and Sibud-Sibud cave. Tourists can come, visit,
witness and also participate in the annual festival of the province
the Arya Abra Festival, held on the second week of March, which
commemorates the founding anniversary of the province.Date of the
FestivalAbrenian Festival or the Arya Abra Festival is a week-long
celebration coinciding with the province's foundation anniversary
held annually every March 5 to 10 or at the second week of March in
the capital town of Bangued. It showcases the province's history
and culture through parades and cultural shows as well as
agro-industrial fairs.
Short HistoryBangued is the capital town of the province of
Abra. The name of the city means "roadblock" and has been the seat
of provincial government since July 25, 1861, coinciding with the
feast day of St. James the Great. The city of Bangued is known for
its Arya Abra festival, which means, "Onward Abra".In ancient time,
the festival is the colorful anniversary celebration of the
provinces Charter Day on March 9, 1917.Arya Abra Festival is a
celebration of of Abras individuality. It features various
sectors/groups in the province together with the indigenous people
in Abra which is the Iraya Tribe. Each day is offered to a
particular group of people as a way of honoring them for what they
have done for the province of Abra.Description
The first day of the festival starts with the Youth Festival
where competitions are held between school groups in various events
including cheering and street dancing.Also, the "Basi Festival," is
also included in the course of events. It is a wine festival
featuring the local alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane and one
of the beverages popular in the celebration is the Abrazzi, which
is a mixture of basi, honey and green mango juice.Activities Sports
and shows A dog show held at the Bangued Town Plaza Usual horse
racing Exhibitions at the Arya Abra Oval Exhibition games and a
basketball clinic in the Bangued Town Plaza Women of Abra parade
with their colorful traditional costumes Ms. Arya Abra-Earth
pageant Karambola (a simultaneous fight among four or more cocks
and hack fight for bantam and regular cocks) Grand party at the
Bangued Municipal Hall
