THIS year's Giant Lantern Caravan of the City of San Fernando kicked off over the weekend at Robinsons Galleria in Quezon City.
The caravan featured the city's “Parul Sampernandu,” a show and a bazaar that showcases San Fernando-made lanterns and other giant lantern festival merchandise, including t-shirts, mugs, and ballers at discounted prices.
City Tourism Officer Ching Pangilinan disclosed that the caravan was launched three years ago, through the collaborative efforts of the Giant Lantern Festival Foundation Inc. and Robinsons Land Corporation, and has been staged in different Robinsons malls in Luzon.
For this year, the caravan will be staged in Cebu.
"This caravan is part of the expansion of our promotions, not only for the Giant Lantern Festival, but also for the lantern making industry in San Fernando and our festival partners," Pangilinan said.
Arlene Magtibay of Robinsons Land Corporation recognized the partnership with the city government for staging a cultural show.
“We are actually very happy and very grateful to the city for the trust and confidence in us. The Giant Lantern Festival is something that everyone must see and we are glad that we are part of that mission in promoting our own culture and traditions,” Magtibay stated.
Vice-Mayor Jimmy Lazatin noted the City of San Fernando has built a solid reputation as one of the best cities in the country when it comes to culture preservation, including the lantern making in the city.
For his part, Mayor Edwin Santiago said that more than the exceptionality of the designs of San Fernando lanterns, it’s still the symbol of love and hope that makes them iconic.
“Our lanterns have been making waves in the local and international scene, because of the symbols they convey—--love and hope to every Filipino during Christmas time,” Santiago said.
The next venues of the Giant Lantern Caravan are Robinsons Galleria Cebu on October 27 to 28, Robinsons Magnolia at Quezon City on November 3 to 4, and Robinsons Place Antipolo on November 10 to 11.