Bolibong Kingking Festival in Bohol

“Bolibong Kingking!”—sounds like some hollow barrels being struck hard on their covers and metal utensils being clashed together. Exactly. Bolibong Kingking Festival is a local religious musical fair in Loboc, Bohol where drums and gongs are played in rhythm.

But the drum and gong musical is not just a crowd attraction during the fiesta. It actually reminds Lobocanos of their faith, history, traditions, and folklore each year they celebrate the occasion. The colorful Bolibong Kingking Festival is held on May 23-24 annually. Drums and gongs playing is accompanied by a symbolic dance ritual mirroring the people’s belief in their patron called Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Aside from the Bolibong Kingking Festival, Loboc is famous for its inclination to music. The town is world famous for its children’s choir which won recognition in Barcelona, Spain. In fact, it is the musical capital of the province. From the Tagbilaran Airport Loboc is some 10 miles away. If we head south from the airport passing by Tagbilaran City, Dauis, Albuquerque, and Loay, we turn left on the road straight to Loboc. It’s some 40-minute drive all the way.

Today, Loboc is also famous for its restaurants on stilts, or what they call floating restaurants, found along the snaking Loboc River which lends fresh rustic sceneries to city visitors. The river also affords boating fun. And while taking a trip to see the Bolibong Kingking Festival we might as well drop by the river wild life and try chancing on feral and rare tarsiers propped up on trees.

Loboc is very religious. It was one of the prime targets of Spanish missionaries in the 17th century as fertile ground for Spanish Catholicism in the Visayas. Aside from the religious origin of the Bolibong Kingking Festival, religiosity is also eminent with the erection of the second oldest church in the Philippines—St. Peter Parish Church. In 1942, it was the site where Japanese forces entered Bohol.

There’s a special 45-minute river cruise at Loboc. Enjoy the riverside verdant sceneries as we’re enjoying a sumptuous meal on board. Somewhere at Busai there’s a short stop to enjoy the awesome waterfalls. A trip to Loboc, bohol not only affords enjoyment of the native musical Bolibong Kingking Festival but a host of other entertainment as well.

The Bolibong Kingking Festival reminds us that Loboc is a seat of native art and culture as well as religious ceremonies. And while watch the festival, engrossed in the rich heritage in rituals, consider other fun plans for the trip.