SAGADA, Mountain Province – It’s now all systems go for the staging of the 10th edition of the Etag festival, the town’s major crowd drawing event, which will run from February 2,5, 2023 where residents and visitors are expected to converge in person following a 2-year lull in the conduct of the festivities.
The theme of this year’s Etag festival is “Napigsa ay Kultura ya Pammati, Wedweday i-Gabay ya Isikan di Umili.”
The festival kicked off last December 22, 2022 with a simple but meanintful program that was geared towards aggressively promoting the activities that will be lined up for the in person staging of the festival.
Among the activities lined up for this year’s Etag festival include the civic-military parade and fest of Purification of the Blessed virgin Mary and the presentation of the Lord Jesus on February 2, 2023 at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin softball ground; agro-gastro fair and launching of the Sagada tourism tagline on February 3, 2023at the municipal ground; Cultural Day on February 4, 2023 at the community court and Culminating and Thanksgiving Day on February 5, 2023 at the community court.
The annual Etag festival activities highlight the culture and traditions of the i-Sagada through the various activities and events participated and enjoyed by residents and tourists alike.
Etag is pork meat preserved through salting, smoking over a low fire, or sun drying, and is an important part of the life of Sagada people, especially in rituals for different occasions.
Earlier, the Etag festival was conceptualized by previous leaders of the municipality as itw crowd drawing event in line with the celebration of the annual town fiesta to help in enticing tourists to spend their well-deserved break in the mystical town to enjoy the cool weather condition and scenic destinations.
Sagada is frequented by foreign visitors, especially the nature lovers, because of the well-preserved state of the environment that contribute in maintaining its cool weather condition aside from providing them with varied attractions such as the caves and other environmentally-related spots.
Tourists wanting to explore the scenic destinations in the Cordillera often come to Sagada before visiting other similarly situated destinations such as the Banaue rice terraces among others.
The municipal government and concerned tourism industry stakeholders are inviting individuals wanting to experience the festive mood of the municipality during the said festival to start booking their stay in accredited accommodation establishments for them to be able to enjoy the various activities that have been lined up by the organizers for this year’s Etag festival which will be the first major in-person event in the municipality after more than 2 years of the implementation of community quarantine restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sagada is located in the western part of Mountain Province and could be reached by land travel from Baguio City, metro Manila and other major destinations in Northern Luzon through the various road networks that had been improved by the government through the years to encourage people to move around and visit pristine tourist spots in the different parts of the country.
