Sinulog Festival

On January 17, 2010 we thought that we would drive south on our Island a couple hours to Kabankalan for "A wild street party in La Carlota, Negros, in which dancers are daubed in black in honour of the island's Negrito people and a feast is held to honour Santo Nino (the child Jesus)." - The Lonely Planet WOW! Did the people there see our white faces as an excuse to smear their charcoal & oil mixture all over our faces, even poor Maddy was a target. By the end of the afternoon we all loaded into the hot car for the drive home after being physically harassed for hours by mobs of fans. We were so black the car seats were stained, the clothes were stained and Brayden was absolutely thrilled to be covered in dirt.

The festival consisted of people running up to you and smearing you with black paint, street dancing done by groups in beautifully coloured costumes and people trying to get your kids to buy a balloon, candy or toy. It was such a hot day too and we were still fresh off the plane and not ready for that kind of assault from the sun so we decided to head home soon after we went into the HOT HOT open field where the dance competition was going to be held. Plus Maddy was having a meltdown trying to deal with all the people in her personal space. Maybe now that we've been here a little bit now and summer is starting to show it's head I'll be able to last longer at our next festival adventure!