Festival Mode ON at Gat Tayaw Tsinelas Festival
By Trinity Torres | March 29, 2026
Festive Espadrilles from Progressive Footwear
Gone are the cool winds of amihan, and in comes the heat of the summer season. April in the Philippines, where everything feels brighter, busier, and just a little more festive after the holy week. In Liliw, Laguna, this is when the town really comes alive as a place where streets, shops, and people all join in celebration. The Gat Tayaw Tsinelas Festival is both lively and reflective. It is a space where generations of tradition and hard-sewn grit step into the spotlight and meet the warm community that backed it.
Recognizing the town’s thriving footwear industry, the local government, with the support of the Southern Tagalog Tourism Council, conceptualized the festival to honor both Liliw’s founder, Gat Tayaw, and its major slipper-making industry. First held on the fifth until seventh of April 2002. Today, the streets continue to come alive with parades of oversized slippers, street dance performances, and rows of slippers and pasalubong stores opening their doors wider than usual. Along Gat Tayaw, the familiar rhythm of
commerce shifts into something more festive. Footwear lined up in abundance, Liliweños welcoming visitors, and artisans continuing a craft that has defined the humble and delightful town of Liliw for generations.
And then, somewhere along the way, the experience expands.
You arrive expecting rows upon rows of tsinelas, the scent of newly made pairs, the quiet pride of local production. And you’ll find that, surely. But you may find yourself holding a shawarma wrap in one hand and a new pair of slippers in the other as you walk further in. Quite the unexpected pairing, but not an unwelcome one either. In fact, the growing number of food stalls has become part of the festival’s evolving character.
It’s a small shift. But it reflects something larger: Liliw is changing, adapting, and finding new ways to draw people in. Still, even with these changes, the heart of the Tsinelas Festival hasn’t gone anywhere.
Aishe Footwear’s achievements from the past Liliw Gat Tayaw Tsinelas Festivals
Yes, the number of stores may not be what it once was. Newer industries have started to find their place within the town. But the people who built Liliw’s name remain. They are still there. Still making, still showing up, still finding ways to keep the craft alive, one pair at a time.
And that, more than anything, is the reason to go and experience it for yourselves. Not just for the cheap tsinelas and other footwear goods. Not just for the food. But for the experience of seeing a town hold onto something that matters deeply to it, while also learning how to grow beyond it.
So if you’re looking for a sign to visit Liliw, this is it pancit.
Go during the festival. Walk its streets. Take your time browsing through shops. Talk to the slipper store owners, craftsmen, and of course the Liliweños. Try the (many) new food stands. Don’t miss out on trying out the local-made Uraro. Buy a pair—or three or even a dozen!
Because somewhere between the noise, the colors, and the festivities of it all, you’ll realize that it isn’t just a festival you’re walking into.
It’s a story still being made. One you get to step into, even just for a day.