The complete festival name is CalacAtchara or CALACAtchara. The capitalization of some letters means that it was made or derived from two words which are “Calaca” (the host town) and “Atchara” (a trademark delicacy native to Calaca, made from pickled raw papaya with added ingredients such as bell pepper or carrot). Because of Mayor Sofronio “Nas” Ona Jr.’s desire to revive the then weakening industry of atchara, he came up with this festival to promote the appetizing dish during his first term of office in 2004.

The Calacatchara Festival usually runs for a week ending in October 24, the feast day of the town’s patron saint, St. Raphael the Archangel.

The epicenter of activity during this festival has got to be the street dancing contest that attracts participants from all over the world. It involves students on the elementary and secondary level gathered from different schools, both private and public, to showcase their talents with dance representing or depicting the Native Culture of Batangas as well as other forms of dance and props that symbolize the Calacan Culture. 

Other attractions at the Calaca Batangas Festival include the children’s fun activities, the food fest, the annual industrial fair as well as the job fair. It is impossible to attend this festival and miss out on the grandiose display of fireworks that illuminate the sky in an array of hues, making for a memorable event.

According to expertworldtravel.com, wowbatangas.com