January|  Angadanan, Isabela, Philippines

The Gakit Festival is an annual festival held at the Cagayan River. It was revived by Mayor Bentot to remind Angadanians of their cultural tradition of resourcefulness and self-reliance.

Participants of the festival offer fruits, vegetables, poultry, and livestock as thanksgiving for their abundant bounty. The practice also reminds Angadanians of their tradition of planting crops and raising poultry in their own backyards for their own consumption. This hopefully will reduce Angadanian’s reliance on others and will inculcate resourcefulness in each Angadanian.

The Gakit Festival also aims to show Angadanians that progress can only be achieved if they are united as one. A key detail of the Gakit Festival is the hand-made bamboo rafts which are used by the participants of the Festival. Each bamboo pole, if alone, has no value. It cannot float reliably on a river nor can it be used to transport anything. But if many bamboo poles are tied together as one, it can be made into a raft which can float and sail on calm or rough waters while transporting people and products. Just like Angadanians, if they act individually, individual hardwork will produce minimal results. But if they act as one, have one goal, and drive towards the same set of objectives, great results can be achieved and the Journey Towards Progress can become a reality.

Source:

angadanan.gov.ph