SidlaKasilak: Festival of Lights

Overview

SidlaKasilak (also written Sidlak-Kasilak), the Festival of Lights, is Loon’s principal town fiesta, held every September 6 in honor of the town’s patroness, Nuestra Señora de la Luz (Our Lady of Light). Per the Municipality of Loon’s own tourism page, the celebration spans several days and is highlighted by a fluvial parade and various contests with cash prizes, most notably the Dance of Lights competition: dancers adorned in colorful LED lights and carrying multicolored lanterns perform synchronized choreography in the dark, evoking the older religious tradition of devotees carrying lit candles inside “parol” lanterns during processions.

The name derives from the Visayan words “sidlak” (shine) and “silak” (light). Residents and pilgrims also climb the adjoining Inang-angan Coral Stairway carrying lanterns as part of the observance, and the festival is closely tied to house-to-house “pakal” (feast-day open house) hospitality throughout the town.

The festival’s patroness, Nuestra Señora de la Luz, is honored in a parish founded by Augustinian missionaries with a 17th-century original foundation; the current church, notable for its ornate twin-tower baroque facade, was largely completed in the 18th century with additions into the 19th, and stands as a declared National Cultural Treasure. The October 15, 2013 magnitude-7.2 Bohol earthquake partially collapsed the bell towers and caused major facade and nave damage; restoration, backed by the National Heritage Fund and international conservation partners, has continued in phases since 2014, so visitors during SidlaKasilak may still see scaffolding on parts of the facade depending on the current phase of work. The Inang-angan Coral Stairway beside the church survived that same earthquake largely intact even as the towers above it fell, which gives the lantern-carrying climb up its steps during the festival an added layer of meaning for residents who watched the two structures fare so differently in 2013.

Loon’s fishing community — households still working handline fishing and bubo trap construction along the coast — keeps its own calendar running through the festival period, and tinolang isda, fish poached in ginger broth with green papaya and malunggay, is the standard household dish served during pakal open-house hospitality, alongside danggit and dried squid from the municipal market near the church. For a fishing and coconut-farming town whose main heritage structure survived one of the province’s worst earthquakes only through a phased, still-ongoing restoration, SidlaKasilak functions as much as a civic reaffirmation of the town’s identity as a religious observance — the fluvial parade and Dance of Lights competition draw regional visitors and revenue to a town center whose restoration costs otherwise compete directly with more basic post-disaster needs in the surrounding barangays.

Find places to stay across Loon, Bohol

Location

Barangay Moto Norte, Loon, Bohol, centered on the Loon Public Plaza and Nuestra Señora de la Luz Church. Loon is approximately 27–30 km from Tagbilaran City.

Getting There

From Tagbilaran City, take a bus or jeepney toward Tubigon and alight at Loon (approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour). The plaza and church, the festival’s focal point, are in the Loon town center (Barangay Moto Norte).

Practical Info

• Festival date: Main feast day September 6, with the wider celebration running as a multi-day event (some sources cite Aug 30–Sept 8) honoring Nuestra Señora de la Luz.
• Venue: Loon Public Plaza and Nuestra Señora de la Luz Church, Barangay Moto Norte.
• Highlight event: Dance of Lights competition, plus a fluvial parade and other contests.
• Nearest accommodation: Loon has limited lodging; Tagbilaran City is the practical base for most visitors.

What to Expect

An evening street-dancing competition using LED-lit costumes and multicolored lanterns, held in the dark for visual effect, alongside a fluvial parade and community contests. The tradition draws on the older custom of devotees lighting candles inside colorful “parol” lanterns during religious processions honoring Mary as “Our Lady of Light.”

Notes

• Loon Festivals — Municipality of Loon, accessed 2026-07-17.
• History of Loon, Bohol: Inang-angan Stairway — UnknownCebu, accessed 2026-07-17 (describes the lantern-carrying climb up the Inang-angan Stairway during the festival).
• Loon is home to one of Bohol’s notable heritage churches (Nuestra Señora de la Luz), whose patronal feast this festival honors.

Related

• All Bohol festivals by month
• Things to do in Bohol in September
• Loon
• Bohol food & culture
• When to visit Bohol