Celebrations of Life and Abundance

Festivals in Cagayan celebrate the activities close to Cagayanos' hearts: their means of livelihood, religious events, and anniversaries of key historical events. This would be a good time for visitors to see and experience first-hand the warm welcoming nature of the Cagayanos.

The Bangkarera Festival of the municipality of Aparri (May 10th) features an exciting race participated in by up to a hundred boats of different sizes and shapes, as thanksgiving to their patron saint, St. Peter Thelmo. The Rumang-ay Festival in Gonzaga, (May 5 - 10), commemorates the historical establishment of Gonzaga. The Aringay Festival in Lasam, (May 15 - 21), depicts farming as the municipality's major livelihood since old times. Buguey municipality holds its Crab Festival every May 14 - 20 to celebrate its more modern achievement in crab aquaculture. In Lallo, the Cabibi Festival every August depicts the "cabibi" (clam) as an enduring major source of livelihood for those living along the banks of Cagayan River.

The province-wide festivals are:

• Aggao Nac Cagayan (June 23 - 29) which commemorates the establishment of the civil government in Cagayan on June 29, 1583.
• Piat Sambali Festival (June 23 - 30) which religious devotees from all over look forward to. It features a reenactment of the "sambali", a war dance of tribes that were united and converted to Christianity through the intercession of the Lady of Piat (known also as the Black Mary). This festival is followed by the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Piat (July 1-2), with activities centered at Piat Basilica Minore which houses the Image of Mary.