DANCE to the beat of the drums. Feast your eyes on vibrant cultural performances. Bask in the brilliance of this city's bounty. It's time to celebrate the 25th Kadayawan Festival!
The Kadayawan Festival is celebrated yearly in this city whose name derives from the friendly greeting "Madayaw", which means good, welcome, or beautiful. The word "Madayaw" originates from the Dabawenyo word "dayaw", meaning good, valuable, superior or beautiful.
Kadayawan 2010 or K-10 brings live music, dance, trade fairs, fashion shows, and performances as a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and serenity of living.
K-10 recognizes the 10 distinguished tribes of Davao: Ata Manobo, Ubo Manobo, K'lata, Tagabawa, Matigsalog, Maranao, Maguindanao, Tausug, Sama and Kalagan, celebrated as the pillars of this city's history.
It is in August the city celebrates the 10 tribes since it's also at this time of the year a bountiful harvest of fruits is experienced in the region. It is also a celebration of the Waling-waling, the Philippine Eagle, the Durian fruit, and the Mount Apo which are symbols of the beauty, bounty, and culture of the city.
This city embodies a harmonious relationship among the tri-people: the Muslims, Christians, and the Indigenous Peoples. Nowhere else in the world will you find a city overflowing with cultural diversity that it pulsates through the streets, its people, its visitors, from it's mountaintops to it's shores.
City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte said there would be no theme in this year's Kadayawan as she said: "the main reason why we want to celebrate this is to highlight our 10 tribes."
Highlights of this year's celebration are the Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan, Pamulak, Hiyas sa Kadayawan, Panagtagbo, to name a few.
Running from August 16 to 22 is the Panagtagbo at the People's Park. Panagtagbo is a cultural show, the converging of the Ata Manobo, Ubo Manobo, K'lata, Tagabawa, Matigsalog, Maranao, Maguindanao, Tausug, Sama and Kalagan tribes, celebrating thanksgiving of their oneness with the earth through performances, culinary fiesta and age-old craftsmanship integrated in a program that showcases their strength as diverse peoples of Davao.
Hiyas sa Kadayawan is held August 20 at Almendras Gym. This is a pageant in search for the Kadayawan symbol, the indigenous lass who is knowledgeable of her indigenous culture and wisdom through a pageantry of Mindanaoan myths and legends.
Indak indak sa Kadalanan, set August 21, is a street dancing parade which runs through the city's major thoroughfares, showcasing the different colors, cultures and traditional dances of the different tribes of Davao and Mindanao.
As a grand finale of the Kadayawan Festival, the Pamulak Floral Float Parade set August 22 is a mobile display of the blooming of flowers and ripening of fruits in creatively decorated floats on parade, showcasing the abundance of vegetation in the Davao Region.
Of course, the Kadayawan festival would not be complete without joining in the various fair trades in the city. Once of which, at the Sanguniang Panlungsod Lobby, proudly Davao-made goods are displayed. From handicrafts made from durian pulp to local delicacies, these locally produced and manufactured items only show that entrepreneurship is encouraged in the city.
The Hudyakaan, the nightly food and music party at Bolton St., is also not one to be missed most especially as top bands are to perform, such as Rivermaya, 6 Cycleminds, Razorback and Gloc 9 (August 19); Pedicab, Cueshe, Callalilly, Imago, Sandwich, and Marcus Highway (August 20); 6 Cycleminds, Callalily, Rivermaya, Razorback, and Paraluman (August 21). Local bands will also perform during the nightly street party.
Rico Blanco, Cueshe, Callalily, Imago and Sandwich will perform at the Kadayawan sa Damosa festivities on August 19. At Kadayawan sa Chinatown, Rivermaya, 6 Cycleminds, Razorback and Paraluman (August 20); and Pedicab, Cueshe, Sandwich, Imago and Marcus Highways (August 21). The series of band concerts is sponsored by Asia Brewery, Inc.
Rizal Park will play host to two Kadayawan weekend events: on August 21 (Coca-Cola concert) and on August 22 (Globe concert featuring Sandwich, Euphonics and Cesar Montano). Peoples Park will entertain its visitors with a show sponsored by Smart featuring Katya Santos, Billy Crawford, Itchyworms and the Philippine All-Stars.
But exactly, K-10 means why the city is open for celebration.
One, there is harmony in diversity. Unlike other Filipino cities who have been colonized by the West, residents of the city have adopted a multi-cultural and cosmopolitan lifestlye, embracing diversity as a continuously growing city with rich traditions.
The city has strong governance. The local government is recognized to be ahead than the national government in many ways: crafting landmark legislation; pioneering innovations in local governance; a strong political will in implementing policies and programs; its high level of self-sufficiency; and in its pluralist and liberalist political climate that result in significant grassroots and civil society participation.
The city also prides itself with a strong support from the community. The success of socio-cultural and even political endeavors of the city has always been attributed to the wellspring of support by the different sectors, groups and institutions both from the private and government.
The city has one of the lowest crime rates in the world averaging at 0.8 in every 10,000 persons per month. The Davao City Police Office has consistently been chosen as the Best Police Office in the entire country. While the Davao City Peace and Order Council has been elevated to the Philippine Hall of Fame for consistently being the best in the country. The city, through the new administration does not adhere to violence to attain peace.
The city boasts of all year round abundance of flora and fauna as well as food, water, and livelihood. Its tap water has been certified by the World Health Organization as one of the best in the world.
Noted as a gender-sensitive city, the city is the birthplace of the country's first-ever Women Development Code; promoting gender equality, upholding women's rights and recognizing them as full and equal partners of men in development and nation building, and equally sharing with men all forms of productive and reproductive activities.
Seventh, the city is blessed with dynamic geography. It's located in an absolutely typhoon-free geography. From the highlands to the lowlands, the city is ideal for outdoor activities because of the stable weather condition.
The city also upholds a healthy lifestyle and well-being and its residents and encourages its visitors to pursue the same. It pioneered the regulation of smoking in public places in the Philippines. It also has tough policies against dangerous drugs, violence against women and children, and environmental pollution. The city also leads the ban on aerial spraying of plantations and use of pyrotechnics.
With the creation of the Public Safety Command Center, which serves as the nerve center for traffic signalization and CCTV cameras installed in strategic areas, the city is currently leading the country monitoring its streets. The city is also proud to be the only Asian city that has a free and integrated emergency response system similar to that of the United States and Canada: the Central 911, which responds to all kinds of emergency be it medical, fire, police assistance, natural or man-made disasters. The Davao City Disaster Coordinating Council is also recognized as the best prepared disaster coordinating council in the country.
And the tenth reason why K-10, the city government upholds optimizing its resources for maximum value. The Mayor ordered that this year's Kadayawan limit its budget to P5 million with P700,000 coming from the local government and the rest from the private sector. The City Government along with its private partners have optimized the resources yet anticipates a maximum value in return.