Both locals and tourists flocked to Mactan Newtown at the end of May for the first ever Cebu Mangoes Festival hosted by Megaworld together with the Department of Tourism, Department of Trade and Industry, and Department of Agriculture.
Mactan Newtown is actually the only place in Cebu with a boulevard of around 250 mango trees! Noli Hernandez, President of Megaworld Cebu Properties, already had a vision of celebrating it there even before the buildings were built to celebrate the success of mangoes in Cebu: the different ways it’s incorporated into food, as well as the use of its bark, leaves, and products of all sorts by the “mangopreneurs”.
The Kadaugan Dancers kicked off the day with festive music, colorful costumes, and street performances as the all-day mango picking began. Back in the day, they would harvest 900 kilos; but now, they are able to harvest 10,000 kilos of mangoes at the 35-hectare property.
Aside from the mango picking, the Mangopreneur Bazaar and zumba, another highlight of the event was the Philippines’ biggest mango sago ever, which was headed by Chef Hao of the University of San Jose Recoletos. It was 6 feet in diameter, and contained 150 kilos of mangoes and 37 kilos of sago. Can you believe it?!
Students of the University of San Jose Recoletos preparing the mangoes for the big dessert.
One of the students mixing the huge bowl of Mango Sago.
There was even a fashion show featuring mango-inspired hablon by Dexter Alazas, a local designer based in Cebu.
To close off the event, local bands and DJs played as fireworks lit up the night sky at the MANGAmazing Concert. The event promises a bigger and better festival for the years to come in the Queen City of the South.
