Dagupan City celebrated its Bangus Festival 2026 with a Bangus Rodeo event that showcased skills, speed, and prized milkfish from local farmers.

Participants competed in several categories, including fastest deboning, eating, classification, and longest, heaviest, and “prettiest” bangus contests.

In the fastest deboning category, a winner finished with a record time of one minute and 12.95 seconds. In the eating contest, a participant finished a whole grilled bangus in two minutes and 21.31 seconds.

Another participant was named fastest bangus classifier with a time of two minutes and three seconds.

For fish size competitions, one entry was declared the longest bangus at 71 centimeters, while another fish won the heaviest category at 2.67 kilograms.

The prettiest bangus award went to another entry, judged based on eye quality, scale condition, head size, gills freshness, and standard weight range between half a kilogram and one kilogram.

Organizers said the event aimed to highlight the strength of Dagupan’s bangus industry and its role in the city’s identity as the Bangus Capital.

The city mayor said the title was built through the work of local fish farmers and workers.

“The title of the Bangus Capital was not handed to us but built. Harvest by harvest through the discipline of our fishpond operators, the early mornings of our workers,” she said.

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Bangus Festival 2026

The Bangus Festival is an annual celebration held in Dagupan City, Philippines, honoring its primary industry and most famous product: the milkfish (bangus). Originating in 2002 to promote the city’s aquaculture and boost local tourism, the festival typically features street dancing, a grand parade, a long-grilled bangus feast, and various cultural and sporting events. While the 2026 edition would be a future event, it will continue this tradition of showcasing Dagupan’s rich cultural heritage and its title as the “Bangus Capital of the World.”

Bangus Rodeo

The Bangus Rodeo is a unique annual festival held in Dagupan City, Philippines, celebrating the region’s primary industry: milkfish (bangus) farming. Its history dates back to 1979, when it was established to promote the local aquaculture and boost community spirit. The festival’s main event features a lighthearted “rodeo” where participants compete to catch the largest milkfish from a muddy pond, accompanied by street dancing, cooking contests, and other cultural activities.

Dagupan City

Dagupan City is a coastal city in the Philippines, located in the province of Pangasinan on the island of Luzon. Historically, it was a significant pre-colonial settlement and later became a major center of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule. Today, it is best known as the “Bangus Capital of the Philippines” for its thriving milkfish aquaculture industry and its annual Bangus Festival.