Our Carabao Festival Preparation: Unity Shines Despite in Power Shortage

These past few days have been very busy for me because we are now preparing for our upcoming Carabao Festival and Patronal Fiesta of Sr. San Isidro Labrador. As one of the committee in charge, I can really feel how big the responsibility is. Aside from our daily work, family responsibilities, and personal errands, we also need to focus on the preparations for the celebration.

Tired, but my heart is happy because I know we are doing this for our church, our faith, and our community.

In our place, around 90% of the people are farmers, so this fiesta is very special for us. Sr. San Isidro Labrador is close to our hearts because he is the patron saint of farmers. Every year, we celebrate with gratitude for the harvests and blessings we continuously receive.

For the past few days, we have been very busy organizing things. We assigned different GKKs for the harvest offerings. Some will bring vegetables, fruits, rice, coconuts, bananas, corn, and other farm products. We secretly planned to give prizes to the most active GKK as a way of appreciating their participation and effort during the celebration. I am excited to see their reactions because they do not know about it yet.

We are also preparing the carroza that will be used for the carabao parade. Everyone is helping one another. Some are decorating, some are carrying materials, while others are giving ideas on how to make the carroza beautiful and meaningful. I love seeing people working together because it shows unity in our community.

Of course, while preparing, there are also different comments, opinions, and judgments from other people. Sometimes it cannot be avoided. But instead of focusing on negativity, I remind myself of the true purpose of this celebration. We are doing this to honor our patron saint, strengthen our faith, and bring joy to the community.
That is more important than any criticism.

Even though I am tired from all the preparations, I still feel excited every day. There is happiness in serving the church and being part of something meaningful. I believe the blessings become even greater when you willingly help and serve with a sincere heart.

I just hope people will appreciate all the effort behind this celebration so our fiesta will become more meaningful, joyful, and memorable for everyone.

Thank you for reading my story. These are my own pictures and edited in Canva. Have a nice day!