LOKARON: What to See, What to Share

Gone lately to a festival especially this month of April? That's good. What about attending some more festivities? Well, try La Castellana, Negros Occidental? Visit this progressive town and witness her annual Banana harvest festival that opens on the first day of April and ends on the 5th of April, wherein you can see different varieties of banana which abundantly are growing in the municipality. This festival coincides with the annual feast day of the town's patron saint, St. Vincent Ferrer. You can also appreciate their agricultural trade that exhibits her bountiful harvest, not only limited to banana produce, but other farm produce and root crops. A parade of beautiful young girls in a float decorated with banana and other agricultural produce, is one of the highlight activities in the said festival which you could admire.

My Family at Soleo Beach When you're in Negros Occidental and looking for a place to stay with a beach, Soleo Beach in San Enrique, Negros Occidental, PH is highly recommended and you can prove it by yourself why it is considered as the "Vacation Spot of the South". Moreover trying to beat the summer heat, Soleo Beach could be best visited as one of the options to spend a time in refreshing yourselves. The venue, the cool breeze early in the morning and the swimming pool enough for a family to cool off themselves are suited for your needs. This year we spent our family tradition outing every new year at the beach of Soleo Beach. We spent for almost 7 hours at the beach. We brought our extra food in our media noche (early morning snack) for the whole family to partake at that time.

Gawahon Eco-Park at Victorias City Recently, I found Gawahon Eco-Park in Victorias City, Negros Occidental, PH very interesting, and challenging when I visited it for the first time. It is interesting for there are some living endangered animal and fowl species like Philippine hawk eagle, Negros cave hog, little golden-mantled flying fox, Visayan tarictic hornbill, spotted wood kingfisher, Visayan flower pecker, Negros bleeding heart pigeon, Visayan leopard cat n the forested area as reported by Mayor Francis Frederick P. Palanca. And it is challenging for I had to overcome some difficulties in going up and down the hill where our campsite was situated. Since it was the venue of the 5-day 75th Diamond Jubilee Jamborette of Negros Occidental Council of Boy Scout of the Philippines, I had to bear it.

Why not visit Guintubdan? You can spend your time, breathing the fresh air, the freshness of the nature from the surrounding of Sitio Guintubdan, Barangay Ara-al, La Carlota City. Stay away from the summer heat and feel the coolness and freshness of Guintubdan environs. There's a Guintubdan Visitor's Pavillon and Garden in Brgy. Ara-al. It is one of the tourist destinations of the Province [of Negros Occidental]. Overlooking its top, you can see and appreciate the clean and green botanical garden, ornamental plants, hybrid flowers, waterfalls, spring water, among others. This pavillon is furnished with tourist class amenities like rooms, beds, viewing center for meetings and conferences. It is also ideal for overnight stay with a cool, cozy atmosphere enhanced with clean, green landscape environs.

Tribu Poblaloma in Valladolid's Pasundayag 2015 Every February 28, all roads are led to the progressive town of Valladolid, bringing more visitors, friends and family members to witness her annual Pasundayag Festival as a form of Dolidnon's (resident of Valladolid) gratefulness for the good harvest which the farmers, the fishermen folks received for the year. Valladolid is one of the towns in the 4th District Of Negros Occidental, Philippines. It has 16 barangay. Her total population is 36,416 in 2010 census. Historically the town is known as the Rice Granary of Negros Occidental for 90 percent of its arable land was planted to palay. It produced more than half a million cavans of rice every year. It also produced vegetables, fruits and the diwal or angel wings shell, a seasonal delicacy. Pasundayag T-Shirt Design With this blessing of good harvest, the town celebrated Pasundayag Festival not only for a thanksgiving of good harvest, but also to give honor to her ...

Jesus at the Last Supper The Youth Organization of Roman Catholic Diocese of  St. Vincent Ferrer Praish Church, Brgy. La Granja, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, PH demonstrated the value of Jesus Christ's passion on a 3-hour Senakulo (The Way of the Cross) every Holy Friday. The drama started at the La Granja Public Plaza at around one in the afternoon. The scene portrayed by the youth was the various scenes of last supper, the capture of Jesus, court hearing at the Kingdom of King Herod and finally at the palace of Pontius Pilate. Jesus portrayed by a volunteered faithful of St. Vincent Ferrer Church played some realistic scenes like Jesus' administration of the last supper to His 12 apostles, the betrayal kiss of Judas Iscariot, among others. It took almost an hour before the casts proceeded to Brgy. Haguimit hill where the Crucifixion of Jesus along with the two thieves who were hanged together with Jesus. Jesus' Captivity Hundred of devotees joined ...

Linaw Bubong at San Miguel, La Carlota City, Neg. Occ., PH We're refreshed and cool off the summer heat after we explored "Linaw Bubong", an Ilonggo dialect which refers to a crystal clear well, The native of the place has called it for its fresh water which runs from the said spring, a top of Barangay San Miguel, one of the 14 barangay in the small city of La Carlota, Negros Occidental, Philippines. This was our unforgettable experience we got when sometime in the month of April in 2013, my whole family spent a day in Linaw Bubong. Everyone of us couldn't resist the inviting fresh water of the said spring. We stayed more than 2 hours on the water. My son-in-law, Almon since he knew how to swim, dived to the water and surfaced with a big smile. Our small grandchildren just played on the shallow area of the "bubong". Not only the freshness of the water has made us cool and relaxed, also the ambiance, the surroundings where fresh air so abounding hav...

La Carlota City Today The La Carlota Pasalamat Festival is its final stage in preparating for its 36th year of thanksgiving for this year 2015. There are a lot of surprises for this year's edition as disclosed by the planning committee in a recent held at the function hall of the city. Barangay and school organizers, and NGOs with participating tribes attended the half-day meeting presided by Acting City Adminstrator Rommel C. Tam. La Carlota Pasalamat Festival Queen 2013 and her court The Blessings of Thanksgiving Rituals The usual 12 thanksgiving rituals will be done by the Sangguniang Panlunsond Members. These rituals may include the blessing of fire, the blessing of money, the blessing of water, the blessing of fruits, the blessing of soil, and the blessing of timber. Moreover, the other offerings are the blessing of goods, the blessing of kindness, the blessing of harmony, the blessing of peace, the blessing of youth, and the blessing of harvest. The Negro...

Kanlaon Volcano viewed from La Carlota City Kanlaon volcano is greeting me everyday as I report to my humble school in Barangay Balabag, this city of La Carlota. I could see it first in the morning before I proceed to my assignment school, Balabag Elementary School. Kanlaon volcano image was taken by my handy phone camera while I was back riding at the motorized tricycle which served as our service together with my teachers in going home, Thursday, February 19 in a sunny late afternoon after our classes oby n that day. This road in going to the right is heading to our school in Barangay Balabag, La Carlota City. This vast sugarcane field is owned by a prominent family in our place. The road on the left is leading to Sitio Bagumbayan, wherein a multi-grade extension classes of Cainaman Elementary School is located. Kanlaon Volcano In a distant is the sprawling, seemingly perfect cone volcano. It is a majestic, beautiful Kanlaon. It is about 2,435 m (7,989 ft) above sea le...

Awit-Sayaw Year 12th It's a season of festival, a season of thanksgiving for the bounty coming from the Lord through a plenty of harvest, peace and harmony every people received. Be it a religious festivity or an expression of gratefulness, as summer approaches everyone is celebrating it. The city government of La Carlota has her own way of being thankful and how she facilitates it. She is very generous and helpful for the talented residents of La Carlota and her neighboring towns and cities in providing an opportunity for them to become a celebrity by showing their talent in singing and dancing. And this could be provided by Awit-Sayaw which is one the main attractions in the annual week-long La Carlota Pasalamat Festival which is usually held a week before May 1. This is a thanksgiving merrymaking of the La Carlotenos or the Mangkasanon. The schedule for this year's Pasalamat Festival is April 27 to May 3 inclusive. This year's Awit-Sayaw is tagged as an over...

LOKARON Official Icon Banner LOKARON is a site which features beautiful places in the country, traditional and modern festivities, events and occasions, and other tourist attractions which the PH country is proud of. LOKARON also features ideas or issues which serve as the bases worthy for discussion, adoptable or not, for dissension or consensus, but nothing personal so to speak. LOKARON is a short term for the phrase, "LOOK AROUND". Look around is an idiomatic expression which means to see things in various directions, examine anything whether events, places, or a situation which could be subject for appreciation or disapproval, depending on the purpose of the doer or the concern. LOKARON  comes to being unexpectedly. LOKARON  is owned, maintained, managed by a blogger, Gil Camporazo, who is by profession is a school head of elementary school in the small schools division of La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, Philippines. He has a passion in writing. This co...