Midsayap Halad Festival

Hala Bira!! Pit Senior!!! Viva Senior Sto. Niño!!– will be the most common phrase throughout the festivities and to all devotees of Sto Niño. The Sinulog of Cebu, Ati-Atihan in Iloilo and places celebrating the feast day of the patron Senior Sto Niño this is the celebration that shows that it’s more fun in the Philippines.

The Municipality of Midsayap of being a first class municipality in the Province of Cotabato, it annually celebrate its patronal fiesta every third week of January. This fiesta involve an event which is participated by different participant coming from different neighboring municipality like Libungan, Pigcawayan, Alamada and other muslim community like Pikit, Matalam. This event is called Halad festival, which celebrated to show different community in Cotabato and even in the province of Maguindanao.

The Halad Festival celebrated here can be likened to the Sinulog festival in Cebu, and Ati-Atihan in Iloilo. The word “Halad” is a Cebuano word which means offering. So that’s why the Municipality of Midsayap celebrates this to give thanks to their good harvest of their different crops.

The Street dancing usually starts at 7 o’clock in the morning, third saturday of January at Crossing, Midsayap. As this celebration is a big event for the Midsayapenos, mainstreets are close to any vechicle and all public transport is rerouted. The street dancing is accompanied different float who participated in annual festival celebration of the town. The street dancing will end in the Notre Dame of Midsayap College ( the first Notre Dame school in Asia ).