A week long of fiesta of Vigan characterized by carnivals, parades, musical extravaganzas, beauty and popularity contests, and nightly cultural shows, culminating with the celebration of the "conversion" of St. Paul the apostle, the town's patron saint, on January 25.
Semana Santa (Holy Week)
The observance of the Holy Week is one of Vigan's foremost tourist attractions. Tourists flock to join local devotees in the religious processions with life-size statutes in "carrozas" and participate in the traditional "pasion" and "visita iglesia". Its own share of religious pageantry and the people's public demonstration of sanctity and piety make its local rendering a memorable experience for all.
Viva Vigan Festival of Arts
In an effort to increase public awareness of Vigan as a unique historic town to be conserved and protected, the Save Vigan Ancestral Homes Association, Inc. (SVAHAI), a local non-government organization involved in the conservation of Vigan Heritage, initiated the 1st Viva Vigan Festival of the Arts in May 1993. The highlights of ancestral houses. With the help of members of print and broadcast media, as well as Manila-based proponents of conservation, the first festival was a success.
Encouraging public response has made festival a yearly. It has also proven to be a stimulus for the local tourism industry. Over the past years, the Viva Vigan Festival has become one of the biggest cultural events in the North, attracting domestic and foreign visitors who come to Vigan on a pilgrimage to our heritage.
