Judging committee (clockwise from back row): Andre Co, organizer Jay Castañeda, Angelo Comsti, Cocoy Ventura, Clang Garcia, Patrick Go, Kalel Demetrio and Josh Boutwood

Isabela becomes a hub of fun and frenzy in late January as people congregate to celebrate the Bambanti Festival. As thanksgiving for the past year’s agricultural harvest, they gather at the Provincial Capitol Grounds in Ilagan and participate in a lineup of activities organized by the local government.

Among them is the giant bambanti installation competition where different municipalities show off their towering scarecrows made of whatever produce is available like rice, corn and sugarcane. There’s also a beauty pageant, a battle for the best agri-ecotourism booth, and a street-dance contest where over 2,000 participants boogie to the festival jingle. Last year, the dancers set the Guinness World Record for the “largest gathering of people dressed as scarecrows.”

The Makan Ken Mainum (food and beverage) segment is where regional flair in cooking and mixing drinks is showcased. It is an initiative of the vice governor’s wife, Mary Ann Dy, that gives culinary students and home cooks a chance to display their ingenuity by using ingredients from their respective towns.

The past festivals had contestants making versions of dinakdakan and longganisa. This year, they were asked to make noodles from scratch and use that as a main component of their dishes. Thirty municipalities joined and many of them had a very unique take on the theme. The group from Ramon town added powdered tilapia to their pasta, while Luna mixed finely chopped green mangoes into theirs. The participants from Quirino had an array of noodles of different colors thanks to blue ternate, tomato, squash and malunggay. Delfina Albano’s contestants had the same idea, using black squid ink and cassava flour for a chewy texture. Cabatuan played with coconut flour, while San Agustin made pasta using black rice flour sprinkled with sun-dried rose petals.

Judges chefs Josh Boutwood, Patrick Go and Cocoy Ventura, mixologist Kalel Demetrio, TV hosts Andre Co and Clang Garcia, and I sampled a lot of food including pancit molo from Angadanan and lasagna with tilapia longganisa from Ramon. Reina Mercedes served pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, roasted mushrooms and crispy paleleng fish.

The entry of Roxas had noodles in a soupy stew of vegetables, nestled inside a squash bowl. The noodles from Ilagan, made with corn flour and bathed in coconut milk carbonara sauce, won top prize.

In the drinks category, there was no shortage of creativity as well. Echague paired soy milk with bignay wine, and Cauayan served a cocktail composed of cucumbers and lime. Notable were the iced tea of San Mateo made with saguibo rice and tamarind syrup, as well as the milk tea concoction of Angadanan made with bamboo shoots, carabao’s milk and black pearls made of labong. However, Tumauini’s blue ternate and turmeric drink got top scores.

Category winners took home cash prizes, but really, the champion in this well-organized festival is Isabela as the people not only got to showcase their produce and creativity, but also demonstrated their camaraderie and unity as one developed province.