Why Lanzones Is at the Heart of Camiguin’s Identity

There are many reasons I keep coming back to Camiguin. The island has waterfalls, hot and cold springs, beautiful beaches, historic churches, and a landscape shaped by volcanoes. But whenever I visit during lanzones season, I am reminded that one of Camiguin’s most important treasures can fit in the palm of my hand.

For me, lanzones represents much more than a sweet tropical fruit. It connects Camiguin’s agriculture, culture, tourism, local businesses, and community traditions.

The island is widely known for producing sweet lanzones, and the fruit has become closely associated with Camiguin’s identity. Every year, the province celebrates the harvest through the Lanzones Festival, an event that brings together farmers, residents, businesses, performers, government agencies, and visitors.

Why Lanzones Is Important to Camiguin

When I think about Camiguin’s lanzones, the first thing that comes to mind is livelihood.

Lanzones farming provides an important agricultural activity for communities across the island. Recent agricultural data show how significant the crop remains. The area planted with lanzones increased from 844 hectares in 2023 to more than 1,041 hectares in 2024, while production reached 4,820 metric tons in 2024.

Those numbers give me a better appreciation of what I see when I visit the island during harvest season. The fruit represents the work of farmers who spend much of the year caring for their trees before they can finally bring their harvest to market.

For travelers, it can be easy to see lanzones simply as something to eat. For Camiguinons, it is connected to agriculture, income, family traditions, and community pride.

The Taste That Camiguin Protects

One thing I find particularly interesting about Camiguin’s lanzones is how seriously the province takes its reputation for sweetness.

The Provincial Government of Camiguin enacted Provincial Ordinance 2018-59, known as the Camiguin Lanzones Development Ordinance of 2018, to help protect the quality of the island’s lanzones. The ordinance addresses the production and harvesting of the fruit, including the importance of picking it at the right stage.

This matters because lanzones do not simply become sweeter after being harvested too early. Unripe lanzones can remain sour until the fruit withers.

That made me look at the fruit differently. When I eat sweet lanzones in Camiguin, I am tasting the result of careful farming and timing, rather than simply picking up another tropical fruit from a market stall.

Lanzones Became a Festival

The strongest proof of the fruit’s cultural importance is the Lanzones Festival.

The celebration dates back to the early 1980s, with sources generally placing its beginnings around 1981. It was created to celebrate the abundant lanzones harvest and has since developed into one of Camiguin’s major annual celebrations.

The provincial government currently describes the Lanzones Festival as an annual celebration held around the third or fourth week of October. Its activities include the Grand Parade, street dancing, cultural presentations, the Mutya sa Buahanan pageant, trade fairs, and the popular Lanzones Eat All You Can.

I find the festival interesting because it turns an agricultural harvest into a province-wide cultural event.

The fruit becomes the starting point for music, dance, food, tourism, local products, and community activities.

More Than a Fruit Festival

I have attended many festivals in the Philippines, and one thing that stands out about Camiguin’s Lanzones Festival is how many sectors are involved in the celebration.

The 2026 edition, the 47th Lanzones Festival, is scheduled for October 18 to 25, with pre-festival activities beginning October 15. The program brings together farmers, producers, local enterprises, artists, performers, and tourism workers. The Ugmad Agro-Industrial Trade Fair will also showcase agricultural products and locally made goods.

That combination makes sense to me.

A successful harvest can support farmers. A festival can bring visitors. Visitors create demand for accommodation, restaurants, transportation, tours, pasalubong, and other local businesses.

The fruit, therefore, becomes part of a much larger local tourism economy.

Lanzones and Camiguin Tourism

For travelers, lanzones have become part of the Camiguin experience.

I often see destinations promoted through their beaches, waterfalls, mountains, food, or festivals. Camiguin connects several of these elements through lanzones.

Visit during the right season to experience the fruit itself, buy fresh harvests, taste local products, attend the festival, and explore the island all at once.

The Lanzones Festival offers visitors another reason to experience Camiguin beyond its famous natural attractions.

A Celebration of Community

What I appreciate most about lanzones is the way it brings people together.

The festival involves local government units, schools, private businesses, community organizations, performers, farmers, and tourism workers. During the 2025 celebration, different sectors from across the province participated in the festivities.

That community participation gives the festival its character.

The parade and performances may attract attention, but behind them are people working together to represent their municipalities and their island.

Even the Lanzones Eat All You Can activity captures this sense of sharing. Visitors and residents gather around the harvest and enjoy the fruit together.

For me, that is what makes the celebration more meaningful than simply having a festival named after a crop.

Why I Think Lanzones Matters

After learning more about the fruit and seeing how Camiguin celebrates it, I understand why lanzones has such a strong place in the island’s identity.

It represents farmers and agriculture. It supports local commerce. It gives Camiguin another tourism attraction. It inspires an annual festival that brings communities together. Most importantly, it gives Camiguin something distinctly its own.

When I visit the island and eat lanzones, I now think beyond its sweetness.

I think about the farms behind the harvest, the people who care for the trees, the businesses that sell the fruit, and the communities that celebrate it every year.

That is why Camiguin’s lanzones matter.

It is a fruit, but it has grown into part of the island’s story.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why is lanzones important to Camiguin?

Lanzones is important to Camiguin because it has become closely connected to the island’s agriculture, livelihood, culture, and tourism identity. The province produces thousands of metric tons of lanzones and has more than 1,000 hectares planted with the crop as of 2024. The fruit also inspired the Lanzones Festival, one of Camiguin’s biggest annual celebrations. For me, its importance goes beyond its taste because the harvest supports farmers while the festival creates opportunities for local businesses, tourism workers, performers, and producers.

2. When is the Lanzones Festival in Camiguin held?

The Lanzones Festival is traditionally held in October, around the third or fourth week of the month. For 2026, Camiguin is scheduled to hold its 47th Lanzones Festival from October 18 to 25, with pre-festival activities beginning October 15. The celebration includes a grand parade, cultural performances, competitions, trade fairs, food activities, and events centered on the island’s famous lanzones harvest.

3. When did the Camiguin Lanzones Festival begin?

The Lanzones Festival traces its beginnings to the early 1980s. Different sources provide different founding dates, but the festival is generally considered to have started around 1981. It was established to celebrate the island’s abundant lanzones harvest. Over the years, the event has grown into a much larger celebration that incorporates culture, community activities, tourism, food, entertainment, and agricultural trade.

4. Why is Camiguin known for sweet lanzones?

Camiguin has developed a strong reputation for producing particularly sweet lanzones. The province introduced the Camiguin Lanzones Development Ordinance in 2018 to help protect the quality of its lanzones. Proper harvesting is important because lanzones picked too early can remain sour. This focus on quality helps explain why the fruit has become such an important part of Camiguin’s identity and why visitors associate the island with sweet lanzones.

5. Can tourists buy fresh lanzones in Camiguin?

Yes. Lanzones are particularly prominent during the harvest season, when visitors can find the fruit at local markets, roadside stalls, festivals, and other community events. The Lanzones Festival also provides opportunities to experience the fruit alongside local agricultural products and other goods. I recommend buying directly from local sellers or farmers when possible, as it gives visitors a chance to support the communities that produce one of Camiguin’s best-known agricultural products.

6. How does the Lanzones Festival benefit local tourism?

The Lanzones Festival gives travelers another reason to visit Camiguin during the harvest season. The event brings together farmers, local enterprises, artists, performers, tourism workers, and visitors. Activities such as the Grand Parade, cultural competitions, trade fairs, food events, and lanzones-related activities create opportunities for local businesses to reach visitors. The festival also helps showcase Camiguin’s agricultural products and local culture to travelers from across the Philippines.

7. What can visitors experience during the Lanzones Festival?

Visitors can experience much more than lanzones during the festival. The program typically includes a Grand Parade, street dancing, cultural presentations, food activities, trade fairs, entertainment, and the popular Lanzones Eat-All-You-Can. The 2026 celebration will also feature the Ugmad Agro-Industrial Trade Fair and various cultural competitions. I would also combine a festival visit with Camiguin’s waterfalls, springs, beaches, heritage sites, and other attractions to experience more of the island.

8. Is lanzones only important during the festival?

No. The festival provides the most visible celebration of lanzones, but the fruit remains important throughout the agricultural cycle. Farmers grow and maintain lanzones trees, harvest and sell the fruit, while local authorities work to protect its quality and promote agricultural development. Recent figures show that the area devoted to lanzones production expanded significantly between 2023 and 2024. The festival is therefore a public celebration of an agricultural product that has a much bigger role in the island’s economy and identity.

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Read: Camiguin Ferry Schedule and Ticket Guide