Iloilo Community Halloween

Friendly Frights · A JCI Philippines event

Families and friendly costumed characters — a smiling skeleton, a ghost, a goblin, and a gentle Dracula — celebrating together outside a heritage hotel in downtown Iloilo on Halloween night

October 31, 2026 · Downtown Iloilo

Friendly Frights. Real Heart.

A Halloween the Ilonggo way — ghouls, goblins, skeletons, and a very polite Dracula roam the night, but there's nothing to fear. We gather the way Ilonggos always have at Undas — to remember those who came before us, and to celebrate the families still here. Hosted by JCI.

How the Night Works

1. Gather at the Hotel Downtown

All families start at the host hotel. A warm welcome, a quick safety briefing for parents and kids, and a few friendly 'ghosts' to greet you before the night begins.

2. Follow the Community Map

Local neighborhoods are mapped with every participating home, apartment, condo, and business clearly marked — so kids know exactly which doors to knock on.

3. Look for the Welcome Signs

Not on the map? No problem. Homes with Halloween lights, carved jack-o'-lanterns, and welcome signs are open for trick-or-treaters. It's the neighborhood signal of welcome.

Meet the Night's Friendly Faces

Halloween has its creatures — and here, every one of them is on your side. The fright is all in good fun; the heart of the night is something else entirely.

The Friendly Ghoul

Not here to frighten — just here for the snacks and the smiles. Our ghouls hand out candy, not chills.

Cheerful Skeletons

A reminder, dressed in fun: beneath every costume we are the same bones. Tonight the skeletons dance, not scare.

Goblins & a Gentle Dracula

Mischievous goblins play games with the kids, while a very polite Dracula hands out buko juice. All in good, family fun.

A welcoming family home decorated with glowing jack-o'-lanterns and warm lights

Not on the Map? You're Still In.

Participation is simple and open to everyone. Any home, apartment, condo, or business can join — no registration required.

Switch on your Halloween lights
Set a carved jack-o'-lantern by your gate
Hang a welcome sign — that's the signal

Fresh, Local & Homemade

Every treat comes recommended from Iloilo's local businesses, bakers, and home kitchens — never store-bought commercial junk food. Each peso spent stays in the community.

Bibingka fresh off the coals
Kakanin & biko made by neighborhood bakers
Buko juice and calamansi coolers
Caramelized camote and banana-cue
Mango treats from Guimaras neighbors
Homemade candies from local kitchens

A local food cart serving fresh kakanin, buko juice, and mango treats at the Halloween night market

Homemade Entertainment

No big commercial productions — just neighbors creating magic with lights, pumpkins, music, and local products.

Homemade Light Shows

Households and barangays craft their own lantern and string-light displays — a friendly decorating contest judged by the community.

Lantern Making Corners

Families carve kalabasa jack-o'-lanterns and craft wax-paper lanterns together at the hotel courtyard, with squash, paper, and tools provided by partner businesses.

Local Audio & Performances

Ilonggo storytellers, rondalla musicians, and youth performers bring playful, spooky-fun soundscapes and street entertainment all evening.

The Lantern Workshop — No Big Pumpkins Needed

Giant American pumpkins don't grow here — and we don't need them. The hotel class teaches just two simple options: carve a native kalabasa, or build a wax-paper lantern. Everything else below is useful info for families who want to go further.

Presenter slideshow — for the class teacher

Full-screen slides for a projector, phone or tablet. Works without internet once opened.

Three carved squash lanterns glowing on a wooden table at night: a pale green kalabasa, an orange potimarron, and a dark green Hokkaido squash

Two Class Options

Option A · Large produce

Carve a Kalabasa

Best & most available — every palengke and sari-sari store in Iloilo, grown locally, cheapest option.

The Filipino classic — wide, flat and pale green. Thick walls hold a candle safely and the flesh becomes ginataang kalabasa the next day. Best for bigger, bolder faces. This is the one to start with.

Tap to see the carving steps

Option B · For ease

Wax Paper Lantern

Easiest — wax paper (baking paper) is already in most kitchens and needs no treatment.

Two designs to choose from: a round cylinder with a cut-out face, or a square box with a painted face — the square one is the easiest of all. No knives, so even very small children can do it.

Tap to see the building steps

Useful Info — Other Squash Options

Kalabasa is all you need. These two are nice extras if a specialty grocer happens to have them — skip them if not.

If you find it

Potimarron (red kuri)

Specialty grocers only — not in most public markets. Skip if unavailable.

Small, teardrop-shaped and bright orange — the closest look to an American pumpkin. Thin skin, so it carves easily. A nice extra if a market stall happens to have it.

If you find it

Hokkaido squash

Specialty grocers only — not in most public markets. Skip if unavailable.

Compact, deep green and very sturdy. Hardest to cut but keeps its shape for days. A specialty option; kalabasa works just as well.

Three Traditional Faces

Start with one of these classic designs — then make it your own. Your own creativity is always the best design. Use them on a kalabasa or a wax-paper lantern alike.

Three traditional carved lantern faces glowing side by side: the classic triangle face, a round smiling face, and a gentle cat face

1. The Classic Triangle

Two triangle eyes, one triangle nose, and a wide grin with two square teeth. The oldest and easiest design — cut straight lines only, no curves.

2. The Round Smiler

Two big circles for eyes, a small circle nose, and a deep crescent smile with rounded corners. The friendliest face — best for little kids and small squash.

3. The Gentle Cat

Curved half-moon eyes, a tiny triangle nose, thin whisker slits and a soft smile. A touch of mischief, still zero fright.

Option A — How to Carve a Kalabasa

Steps

1Wash and dry the squash, then draw your face on with a marker first — never cut freehand.
2An adult cuts a lid at the top (angle the knife inward so the lid rests without falling in). For Hokkaido, cut a hole in the base instead.
3Scoop the seeds and stringy flesh with a spoon; keep them for cooking and toasting.
4Thin the carving wall from the inside to about one finger's width so light shines through.
5Cut the marked shapes with a small serrated knife, working from the middle of the face outward.
6Push the cut pieces out from the inside, then drop in an LED tea light — safer than a flame near costumes.

Adults handle all knives. Kids draw the face, scoop the seeds, and place the light.

Option B — How to Build a Wax Paper Lantern

Two glowing handmade wax-paper jack-o'-lanterns side by side: a round cylinder with a cut-out triangle face, and a square box with a painted smile face

Two shapes — both taught in the class, and both can have a cut-out face or a coloured face. The square box is the easier build: flat panels, a stable base and a face that's simple to draw. The round cylinder is quicker to shape and gives the classic glow. Cut-out faces glow brightest; coloured faces need no scissors — safest for the smallest hands.

Two glowing wax-paper jack-o'-lanterns hanging in the night air from thin strings — one round with a cut-out face, one square with a painted face

Design 1 · Round Cylinder — Cut-Out or Coloured Face

Steps

1Cut a sheet of wax paper (baking paper) into a panel big enough to wrap into a cylinder.
2Tape or staple the edges together to form a cylinder.
3Draw your chosen face on the paper.
4Cut-out face: cut the eyes, nose and mouth out with small scissors for a bright, classic glow. Colored face: fill the face in with crayons, oil pastels or poster paint instead — no scissors needed, and it glows in soft colour.
5Keep the tea light centered and at least 2–3 cm from the paper — wax paper resists heat but can still burn if the flame touches it directly.
6Drop in a tea light (LED is safest) and set it on the table or hang it with string.

Design 2 · Square Box — Cut-Out or Coloured Face

Steps

1Cut wax paper into four equal squares for the sides, plus one for the top — or fold one long strip into four sides.
2Tape the edges together into a square box — flat panels, so nothing has to bend or curve.
3Draw your chosen face on one flat panel — easier than on a curve.
4Cut-out face: cut the eyes, nose and mouth out with small scissors. Colored face: paint or colour it in with crayons, oil pastels or poster paint — no scissors, safest for the smallest hands.
5Drop in a tea light (LED is safest) — in a square box it sits flat on the base, so it stays centered and safely away from the walls.
6Set it on the table, or tape a string handle to the top to carry or hang it.

No knives in either design — the painted square box doesn't even need scissors — so even very young children can do this one start to finish. An LED tea light is always safest.

A handmade Filipino paper lantern shaped like a jack-o'-lantern, made from orange papel de hapon over a bamboo frame and glowing from an LED tea light inside

Useful Info — The Ilonggo Paper Lantern

This is our ideal Filipino Halloween lantern. Built the same way as the Christmas parol — bamboo sticks and papel de hapon — it costs almost nothing, survives the rain better than a squash, packs flat for next year, and every child can make one alone. Hang a row of them along your gate and the whole street glows.

What you need

Thin bamboo sticks or barbecue sticks · orange papel de hapon (or crepe paper) · string · glue or rice paste · scissors · a marker · one LED tea light.

Step by step

Open

1Cut two bamboo strips and bend each into a ring — one for the top, one for the base. Tie the ends with string.
2Join the rings with 4 to 6 vertical bamboo sticks to make a round cage, tying each joint.
3Cut orange papel de hapon into panels a little wider than each gap.
4Draw your chosen face on one panel, then cut the eyes, nose and mouth out with small scissors.
5Glue the panels around the cage with rice paste or glue stick, smoothing out wrinkles.
6Add a paper stem or green crepe leaves at the top, and tie a string handle across the top ring.
7Drop in an LED tea light and hang it by your gate. (Want a real flame? Fireproof the paper first — see the methods below.)

Useful Info — Fireproofing Plain Paper

Open

An LED tea light is always safest. But if your family wants a real candle inside a paper lantern, treat the paper first — these two methods genuinely stop paper from holding a flame.

Borax Solution

Best for families

The classic home fireproofing trick. Borax is a common laundry and cleaning product found in any grocery store.

1Mix 1 cup borax + 2 cups water (heat gently to dissolve).
2Soak your tissue or thin paper for about 5 minutes.
3Hang to dry completely — it will feel stiffer when dry.
4Test: hold a lighter to a corner — it should scorch and smolder, not flame.
5Cut and assemble your lantern.

The borax coats the cellulose fibers so they cannot sustain a flame — and it stiffens the paper so it holds a carved shape better than plain tissue.

Candle-Wax Rub

No heat source

Make your own wax paper. Thicker paper — cardstock or a brown paper bag — works best here.

1Lay paper on a flat surface.
2Rub a paraffin (or any wax) candle over both sides until the paper feels slick and waxy.
3Let it set for a few minutes.
4Cut and assemble.

No money? Two kitchen options that actually work

Open

Borax is great — but not every family can buy it. These cost nothing or almost nothing and use things already in the home.

Method 4 · Salt Water (Asin)

Zero cost

Salt is a genuine flame retardant — and every kitchen already has it. Soaking leaves salt crystals inside the paper fiber that stop a flame from spreading.

1Dissolve 3 tablespoons of salt in 1 cup of warm water (the stronger the better).
2Soak your tissue or crepe paper for about 5 minutes.
3Hang to dry completely — it will feel slightly crisp and may look faintly white.
4Test a corner with a lighter: it should char and go out, not flame.
5Cut and assemble your lantern.

Use the strongest solution you can make — too weak and it won't hold. Re-soak and dry again if the test still flames.

Method 5 · Tawas (Alum)

Few pesos

Tawas (potassium alum) is a traditional Filipino household mineral — a few pesos at the sari-sari store — and a proven paper fire retardant that also stiffens the paper beautifully.

1Dissolve 2 tablespoons of powdered tawas in 1 cup of warm water.
2Soak the paper for about 5 minutes.
3Hang to dry completely — the paper stiffens as it dries.
4Test a corner: it should scorch, not flame.
5Cut and assemble.

Please don't oil crepe paper. Rubbing cooking oil into crepe paper does not make it fire-safe — oil is flammable and will make the paper burn faster, like a candle wick. If you have only crepe paper and no money, use the salt-water or tawas soak above. Both are free or near-free and actually work.

Bring your finished lantern to the hotel courtyard — the brightest and most creative ones lead the walk into the neighborhoods.

A warm remembrance altar with glowing candles, flowers, and family photographs, celebrating loved ones who have passed

Undas — Remembering Loved Ones

In the Philippines, these October nights meet Undas — the sacred All Saints' and All Souls' Days (November 1–2) that every Ilonggo family already keeps, gathering at candles and grave-sides to remember those who passed. Halloween here is the playful eve that flows into that remembrance: the costumes and the friendly frights come first, then the quiet honoring of the ones who shaped our community. We remember them, we tell their stories, and we keep their place at the table.

That is why nothing about this night is meant to scare. It is meant to celebrate — the lives that shaped our community, the families still here, and the love that outlasts a single lifetime.

A quiet reminder for this life, and the next.

Light a candle for those who came before us
Share their stories with the next generation
Celebrate life, not the dark

Why This Night Matters

One evening that does three things at once — and all of them build Iloilo.

Family Bonding

Parents and children dress up, walk the routes, carve pumpkins, and share stories — building memories that outlast any single night.

Community

Streets open to one another, neighbors become family, and JCI marshals keep everyone safe and connected across every mapped route.

Local Businesses

Every treat comes from Iloilo's bakers, vendors, and home kitchens — never store-bought junk. Each peso spent stays in the community.

Safety Comes First

Safety briefing and buddy-system check-in at the hotel before departure
Mapped, well-lit routes agreed with barangay officials and homeowner groups
JCI marshals and volunteers stationed along every route
Fresh, homemade treats from known local vendors — no unlabeled commercial junk food
First-aid and lost-children desk at the hotel throughout the night

Join the Night

This annual event is created and hosted by JCI — the global organization of young leaders behind programs like TOYM, TOFARM, Oplan Kaagapay disaster relief, Mission Possible, and Bags to School. Halloween in Iloilo is their newest way of doing what JCI does best: bringing people together, lifting local businesses, and strengthening families.

Event Details

Date: Friday, October 31, 2026
Start point: Host hotel, downtown Iloilo City — venue and start time to be announced by JCI
Who: All families and kids — free to join
Contact: JCI Iloilo — contact details to be announced

Put your home on the map

Home, apartment, condo or business — register with JCI to be a marked trick-or-treat stop, or light a lantern and welcome sign on the night.

Sell local treats

Local bakers, kitchens and food businesses can be recommended treat stops — fresh and homemade, never commercial junk food. Participating merchants also get one free personalized Kinang Lantern with their own brand, logo or motto.

Volunteer as a marshal

Help JCI keep routes safe, staff the first-aid and lost-children desk, and keep the night friendly for every family.

Every jack-o'-lantern lit, every homemade treat shared, every new friendship made — that's the real magic of the night.

Mangga & Kinang

Iloilo-Made Lanterns & Guimaras Mango Treats

Original products debuting at the Halloween event — some will be given away free on the night, with more for sale if you'd like extra.

Kinang Lanterns

Handmade light from the fruit's by-products — panels pressed from mango seed and peel fibre and cashew-apple pomace in season, with locally sourced Iloilo wax paper when the trees rest. Sold finished and ready to hang or set on a table with a fitted LED tea light; the Color & Design Kit is a Halloween-season product only.

Halloween Edition

Available now

Friendly faces, bats and moons cut into fruit-fibre paper. Choose a finished lantern, ready to hang or set on a table with a fitted LED tea light, or the Halloween-only Color & Design Kit.

Merchant lantern styles

Choose Round, Square or Ball, then choose the message. The examples below are not fixed pairings — any shape can carry a brand name, simple logo, short motto, menu promotion or one-colour product image.

A round handmade paper lantern with a short hand-painted motto design

Round — motto

Finished · hang or set down

A short motto or statement on the wraparound surface. This round shape can also carry a brand name, logo or product image.

A square handmade paper lantern with a simple mango product image and label panel

Square — product image

Finished · hang or set down

Four flat faces for a one-colour product image and short label or menu promotion. It can carry a motto or brand name instead.

Ball — brand name

Finished · hang or set down

A rounded storefront form for a brand name and simple logo. It can also show a product image, menu promotion or short motto.

Free for participating merchants

All three shapes · Free

Food merchants and stores taking part in the night receive all three personalized lanterns — Round, Square and Ball — free of charge. Choose a brand name, simple logo, short motto, menu promotion or one-colour product image, cut into or hand-painted on the panel. It arrives finished and ready to hang or set on a table with a fitted LED tea light for your stall, shop window or mapped trick-or-treat stop. Register with JCI as a participating business (contact to be announced), then request your lantern.

For participating food and store merchants

Submit your lantern design

Send your logo or brand name, a product image, and a short motto. Mangga & Kinang will use your submission to prepare all three personalized lanterns — Round, Square and Ball — supplied free for your business to display during the event.

Mangga Treats

Dark Chocolate Mango Bites

Creamy mango-and-coconut centre with vanilla, wrapped all the way around in dark chocolate.

Caramel-coated fresh mango pieces on bamboo sticks on a wooden board

Caramel-Coated Mango on a Stick

Fresh Guimaras mango on a bamboo stick under a crisp caramel shell — like a candy apple, made with mango.

Golden mango gummy candies dusted in sour sugar in a small bowl with calamansi

Sour Mango Gummies

Chewy mango gummies rolled in bright, mouth-puckering sour sugar.

Clusters of dried mango and roasted cashews bound in caramel on parchment

Mango & Cashew Clusters

Bite-sized clusters of dried Guimaras mango and roasted cashews in soft caramel.

Mango caramel lollipops on bamboo sticks on a slate plate

Mango Caramel Pop

Dried mango set in golden caramel on a bamboo stick — chewy and slow to eat.

Shards of golden brittle studded with cashews and dried mango on a wooden board

Mango & Cashew Brittle

Snappy, buttery brittle full of dried mango and toasted cashews.

Six wrapped mango chocolate candy bars fanned on a wooden board with one bar cut open showing a thick golden mango filling topped by a thin distinct accent layer

Mango Candy Bars — 6 Flavours

Same mango heart, a different layer each bar. Every bar starts with a thick Guimaras-mango filling, then a thin distinct layer of the special ingredient, then the coating — so each bite leads with mango and then the mouth tastes the difference: Caramel Crunch, Mango Fudge, Mango Cashew Nougat, Creamy Mango Vanilla, Dark Chocolate Mango, and Mango Coconut. Sold one at a time or as a 6-bar pack.

Original concepts · Mangga & Kinang · Available for partner or license