Tuna Festival

Tuna Festival is an incredible part of General Santos City. The city’s other moniker is ‘Philippines’ Tuna Capital’, thanks to the abundance of tuna fish.

The yellowfin tuna fish abound in the waters that surround the city, effectively making the city one of the leading producers of tuna. What’s more, General Santos is recognized as a golden source of tuna globally. Little wonder the locals thoughtfully organized a festival, the Tuna Festival.

Tuna Festival in GenSan

Image courtesy of Constantine Agustin

Tuna festival has been held annually in General Santos City since 1998. The colorful festival is traditionally held in the first week of September, and it’s the time when everything tuna is celebrated. Which makes perfect sense, for the largest producer of sashimi-grade tuna in the country.

Unlike other festivals that celebrate fruit such as the Lanzones Festival and the Mango festival, this is a celebration of everything tuna and the place to go when you want to savor tuna dishes. The tuna dish cooking contest is one of the most incredible parts of the festival. Have your fill of deliciously cooked tuna before making your way to the street carnivals where the vivacious locals dance away to melodious tunes.

The beginning of the festival is marked by an extravagant float parade. The outdoor lover will certainly fall in love with the floats designed like tuna fish. The design of the floats is inspired by the ocean, and obviously, the tuna fish, which is pretty obvious from their colors and shapes. This is also fun for the kids, so parents should feel free to travel with the little ones. And bear in mind that this is only the beginning of the festivities.