A new Guinness World Record was claimed during the opening of the Sambalilo Festival in Cavinti, Laguna last August 1, 2016.
The municipality of Cavinti celebrated its Sambalilo Festival for the fourth time with the theme “Pinakamalaking Sambalilo… Dala MO ay Turismo… Ibandera sa Buong Mundo!”. The town folks have come together to create a large woven hat, as part of the celebrations, with the goal of bagging the Guinness World Record for the largest Sambalilo.
Were they successful? Read on.
Sambalilo is the municipality’s term for a straw hat made from pandan leaves through the process of weaving (“paglalala”). The leaves are dried, flattened and stripped into pieces and will start weaving with a wooden mold as guide.
Going back to the Guinness World Record.. Creating the hat was the easy part. Raising funds to invite a judge for the record attempt and get the certificate was another thing. It is good to know that the bayanihan spirit lives on as many people have supported and donated for this project.
Swapnil Mahesh Dangarikar, a Guinness Adjudicator, officiated the official measurement and awarding. The hat, which took a month to weave, measures 13.05m in diameter and is 2m high with 3 meter-wide central dome. Check out the official entry here.
There’s a similar record for the world’s largest straw hat, which measures 6.65m in diameter and is 2.6m high. This was created by Atalia Bis & Partners Company from Kozieglowy, Poland and was measured in August 2006.
For those who want to see the Sambalilo for themselves, the hat will be on display at the municipality court.
The festival ran until August 7 with the various dance competitions, beauty pageants, battle of the bands, trade fair, beer plaza and more! More photos can be found on Facebook.
Congratulations to Mayor Oliveros and the entire municipality of Cavinti for the world record and the success of the Sambalilo Festival! Thank you for having us again and sharing this momentous event <3
Cavinti
Eco-tourism, Eventful, Adventure and Falls Capital of Laguna
