My CLSU Lantern Festival Experience
Christmas is once again in the air and a lot of merriments take place. In the Philippines, Christmas is celebrated when the “–ber months” take over and people suddenly get the holiday vibe. I for one, this is one of the most exciting seasons of the year as you get to spend time with family and friends – especially when you get to experience a lantern festival like no other!
Central Luzon State University’s Lantern Festival 2017 (Photo from the CLSU-University Supreme Student Council Facebook Page)
See also: Baguio Country Club Galaxy Christmas Village 2017
Lantern Festival 2017: Playful Christmas
As a travel blogger, the holidays are an opportunity for us to book longer vacations as there are a lot of long weekends (cheers to earned leaves, too!) and there is more time to prepare for Christmas and New Year.
For the second time, I was again invited by one of the biggest universities in Luzon to be part of their merry-making. The Central Luzon State University holds their annual Lantern Festival and a bunch of activities are held every year and it is really F-U-N!
In my two years of traveling and blogging extensively, I have never thought (even in my wildest dreams) of judging a certain activity, like, ever! When I judged their Lantern Festival last year (2016), I was amazed on how students show their raw ingenuity when it comes to art – in a short span of time at that. When they showcased different Philippine festivals then, that is when I realized that the country is full of color and is a Mardi Gras on its own.
CLSU’s Lantern Street Dance Competition
For the second time around, I am again tasked to judge their annual Street Dancing Competition and this year’s theme is all about (A) Playful Christmas: Panahon ng Kasayahan, sa Lantern Ipagdiwang. This year’s street dance theme is all about traditional Filipino games coinciding with each College’s distinct traditions when celebrating the Lantern Festival in CLSU.
I personally find this a bit challenging for this year’s contingents because it is hard to incorporate one element with the other and synthesize it into a dazzling spectacle of light and color. To my surprise, the contestants delivered and another great show was witnessed. A great year-ender activity.
Mr. and Ms. Lantern Festival 2017 (center) from the College of Home Science and Industry and College of Business Administration and Accountancy respectively
Met new-found friends
Even if the Lantern Festival is just an overnight affair, new friendships were formed and new partnerships were made. Thanks to the power of Social Media and the World Wide Web as well, these friendships will surely last a lifetime!
(From 2016!) 🙂
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If you guys want to know what to expect from this annual Lantern Festival, see the video below! We’re born to travel!
This blog is primarily to promote Central Luzon State University’s annual Lantern Festival. Personal shout out to Raven Dones for introducing me to this fanfare (salamat, Rave!) and to CLSU’s University Supreme Student Council for inviting me again to judge one of your major events. (Next year again? Let’s do this as an annual reunion, shall we?) 🙂
About Aldrick 'chiki' Agpaoa
