A friend wanted to go to Boracay this weekend, and eager to travel, I agreed to go with him. Unfortunately for him, work wouldn’t allow him to take leave. Not one to pass up the chance to get out of Manila, I pushed on with the trip, specially since it’s a long weekend for me. <\/p>\n
\nI found out later on that it was the week of the Ati-atihan festival in Kalibo. Though I will be flying into the Caticlan Airport, I thought I might as well make the most out of the trip and take that one and a half hour ride to Kalibo and witness the mother of all festivals.<\/p>\n
The Ati-atihan is held in the honor of the Sto. Ni\u00f1o, much like the Sinulog festival (which is being held simultaneously in Cebu) and the Dinagyang Festival of Iloilo (which will be held next weekend). It’s a week-long affair, concluding on the third Sunday of January. Though Kalibo is the main venue of the festival, other towns also have their own ati-atihan celebration: Boracay on the second Sunday, and the town of Itbajay on the fourth Sunday. <\/p>\n