Every 15 May the farming town of Lucban honours St Isidore the Labourer by dressing its houses in the harvest — fruit, vegetables, handicrafts and kiping, leaf-shaped rice wafers in every colour that can later be grilled or fried and eaten.
A harvest on the walls
Lucban, a town in the province of Quezon, celebrates the Pahiyas Festival every 15 May in honour of St Isidore the Labourer, the patron saint of farmers. After an early morning mass at Lucban Church, the town reveals a street of houses decorated with fruit, vegetables, agricultural produce, handicrafts and kiping, a decoration made from rice that can later be grilled or fried and eaten.
The houses are judged and the best is declared the winner, and every year visitors walk the town to see the decorations. What used to be a single day has become a week-long celebration beginning on 15 May. In festival week the town’s longganisa sausages are sold by the dozen and hang from the fronts of houses, shops and market stalls; in 2014, local sausage makers produced 40,000 of them over a single week.
When it happens
The festival day is 15 May, the feast of St Isidore the Labourer, beginning with a 6 a.m. mass at Lucban Church. Celebrations now continue for a week from 15 May.
- May 15, 2027Calculated
- May 15, 2028Calculated
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Food and drink
Kiping
A colourful decoration made from rice, hung on house fronts for the festival and afterwards grilled or fried and eaten.
Lucban longganisa
The town’s reddish sausages, sold in huge quantities in festival week and even hung on the façades of houses and market stalls.
Sources
This entry was written from the following sources.
- LucbanWikipedia · read September 17, 2026
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