If you have difficulties deciding the best time of the year to visit Manado, the following calendar of events might enlighten you.
Figura Festival: 5 February
Figura Festival is among the most anticipated parades where over 200 people would take on the road in costumes that represent various professions—security guard, police officer, the army, teacher, lawyer, even janitor. Women and men would cross-dress, and adults would put on school uniforms. The parade also showcases such local cultures as the War Dance and traditional handicrafts, along with comedic plays and pantomimes. Figura Festival is intended to be a safe, fun, and free entertainment for the whole family.
Toa Peh Kong (Cap Go Meh): 3rd week of February
Also known in other countries as the Lantern Festival, the feast is named after one of the Buddhist gods and is held on the 15th day of the Lunar New Year. The parade starts from a 300-year-old temple in Chinatown, showcasing the Lion Dance and physical endurance of Thang Shin, believed to be the gods’ representative on earth. To prove his divine powers, the Thang Shin would thrust and slash his body with a blade, supposedly without shedding any blood. Toa Peh Kong is open to guests of any religious backgrounds. However, due to the violence, we do not recommend this show for visitors with children.
Easter Walk: 4th week of April
During Easter, 100 churches from across North Sulawesi would send representatives to replicate the Jesus Christ’s crucifixion walk to the hill of Golgota. Easter celebration starts with a mass worship service, followed by a 10 km (6.2 miles) walk by actors playing the role of Jesus and the Roman soldiers. You can also feel the locals’ creative streak as they build mini Golgota hills in their neighborhoods, usually to be contested. Easter is a major religious event in predominantly Christian Manado.
Independence Day: August 17
Join a unique celebration of the Independence Day underwater. In 2009, more than 2,480 local and international divers broke the Guinness World Record by commemorating the 64th independence day of the Indonesian Republic under the sea. The dive began at 10 AM and lasted for 30 minutes at the depth of 10 to 20 m off the Malalayang shore. The previous record was held by Maldives with 958 divers in 1997. Although not for world record, the underwater celebration is held annually.
Bunaken Festival: 15-24 September
This festival is held on Bunaken Island to commemorate the anniversary of North Sulawesi province. The celebration displays local cultural attractions and sea carnival, and sometimes features cultural showcasing from neighboring Asian countries.
Christmas: 25 December
The anticipation for Christmas usually begins from the first week of December, where all sorts of Santa Claus—large and thin, white- and black- bearded, with Black Pit and without—do not only sit in shopping centers, but visit one house to another. When it comes to Christmas, Manadonese people like it big. In 2010, for instance, the tallest Christmas tree in Asia (50 m) was erected at the shopping district, and a Christmas tree made of artificial reef and coral (4.6 m) was planted underwater, at 10 m deep off the Marina shore, for the sheer pleasure of snorkelers and divers. Finally on Christmas Eve, fireworks fill the sky and people exchange Christmas greetings only a few minutes after midnight. Experience a tropical Christmas like no other in Manado.
New Year Eve: 31 December
On the New Year Eve of 2011, Manado broke the national record for the longest fireworks at 90 minutes. Stand at any corner of the city, and you can still have a full view of the fireworks as they are launched sporadically and spontaneously by people across the city. If you hold an Advanced Diving License, we can assist you to celebrate the Old and New underwater. Or, we can arrange for you a midnight trekking tour, so that you can catch the New Year’s first sunrise from the top of highest mountain in North Sulawesi, Mt. Klabat.
Figura Festival: 5 February
Figura Festival is among the most anticipated parades where over 200 people would take on the road in costumes that represent various professions—security guard, police officer, the army, teacher, lawyer, even janitor. Women and men would cross-dress, and adults would put on school uniforms. The parade also showcases such local cultures as the War Dance and traditional handicrafts, along with comedic plays and pantomimes. Figura Festival is intended to be a safe, fun, and free entertainment for the whole family.Toa Peh Kong (Cap Go Meh): 3rd week of February
Also known in other countries as the Lantern Festival, the feast is named after one of the Buddhist gods and is held on the 15th day of the Lunar New Year. The parade starts from a 300-year-old temple in Chinatown, showcasing the Lion Dance and physical endurance of Thang Shin, believed to be the gods’ representative on earth. To prove his divine powers, the Thang Shin would thrust and slash his body with a blade, supposedly without shedding any blood. Toa Peh Kong is open to guests of any religious backgrounds. However, due to the violence, we do not recommend this show for visitors with children.
Easter Walk: 4th week of April
During Easter, 100 churches from across North Sulawesi would send representatives to replicate the Jesus Christ’s crucifixion walk to the hill of Golgota. Easter celebration starts with a mass worship service, followed by a 10 km (6.2 miles) walk by actors playing the role of Jesus and the Roman soldiers. You can also feel the locals’ creative streak as they build mini Golgota hills in their neighborhoods, usually to be contested. Easter is a major religious event in predominantly Christian Manado.
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| Courtesy of Brisbane Times |
Join a unique celebration of the Independence Day underwater. In 2009, more than 2,480 local and international divers broke the Guinness World Record by commemorating the 64th independence day of the Indonesian Republic under the sea. The dive began at 10 AM and lasted for 30 minutes at the depth of 10 to 20 m off the Malalayang shore. The previous record was held by Maldives with 958 divers in 1997. Although not for world record, the underwater celebration is held annually.
Bunaken Festival: 15-24 September
This festival is held on Bunaken Island to commemorate the anniversary of North Sulawesi province. The celebration displays local cultural attractions and sea carnival, and sometimes features cultural showcasing from neighboring Asian countries.
Christmas: 25 December
The anticipation for Christmas usually begins from the first week of December, where all sorts of Santa Claus—large and thin, white- and black- bearded, with Black Pit and without—do not only sit in shopping centers, but visit one house to another. When it comes to Christmas, Manadonese people like it big. In 2010, for instance, the tallest Christmas tree in Asia (50 m) was erected at the shopping district, and a Christmas tree made of artificial reef and coral (4.6 m) was planted underwater, at 10 m deep off the Marina shore, for the sheer pleasure of snorkelers and divers. Finally on Christmas Eve, fireworks fill the sky and people exchange Christmas greetings only a few minutes after midnight. Experience a tropical Christmas like no other in Manado.
New Year Eve: 31 December
On the New Year Eve of 2011, Manado broke the national record for the longest fireworks at 90 minutes. Stand at any corner of the city, and you can still have a full view of the fireworks as they are launched sporadically and spontaneously by people across the city. If you hold an Advanced Diving License, we can assist you to celebrate the Old and New underwater. Or, we can arrange for you a midnight trekking tour, so that you can catch the New Year’s first sunrise from the top of highest mountain in North Sulawesi, Mt. Klabat.
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