7 Reasons You Can’t Miss BÚTLAK: The 40th Negros Trade Fair

 

Some fairs are worth visiting for the shopping. Others for the food. BÚTLAK: The 40th Negros Trade Fair gives you 40 years of reasons to come. From September 22 to 27, 2026, the country’s longest-running provincial trade fair returns to SMX Convention Center Aura, bringing the best of Negros closer to Metro Manila shoppers for its milestone 40th anniversary.
 
Through SM for MSMEs, SM Supermalls continues its collaboration with the Association of Negros Producers (ANP), helping provide Negrense entrepreneurs a highly visible marketplace where their products, stories and craftsmanship can connect with more customers and potential markets.
 
This year’s theme, BÚTLAK, celebrates a legacy moving forward with fresh energy: honoring the flavors, craftsmanship and stories that made the fair an institution while giving Negrense creativity a distinctly contemporary spin. Whether you come to eat, shop, discover something new—or all three—here are 7 reasons this milestone edition deserves a spot on your calendar.
 
1. Because the Big 4-0 is going BIG!
 
Forty years doesn't happen every day. More than 115 Negrense entrepreneurs are preparing to fill 178 booths with the best of the island—from beloved food and fashion to handcrafted furniture, home accents, art and more. For longtime NTF fans, it's a homecoming. For first-timers, this may be the best year to finally discover why generations of shoppers keep coming back. Six days. 178 booths. One island's creativity under one roof.
 
 
2. Come hungry. Very hungry.

Ask an NTF regular what they're looking forward to and chances are, food is somewhere near the top of the list.

●       21 Restaurant is bringing Bacolod favorites including its Signature Batchoy, Spanish-style Boquerones and Lola Nitang's Bibingka.
●       Quan Delicacies brings the ultimate Negrense comfort-food haul: classic kakanin, napoleones, chicken pie and Frozen Sud-an—including Cansi—alongside newer creations such as Puto Sorbetes and Batuan Focaccia.
●       Then there's Sir and Ma'am Restaurant's heirloom Morcon, a family tradition dating back to 1962.
●       Casa Carmela's small-batch Negrense dishes and culinary staples made for stocking the pantry.
 
Come hungry. Leave with enough pasalubong to make everyone at home very happy.
 
3. Wear Negros differently.

This isn't heritage that stays behind glass. At BÚTLAK, traditional craftsmanship finds its way into pieces made for today's wardrobe.
 
●       Tia Lacson The Label's Medina Collection brings effortless resort dressing in natural linen, lace, fine piña and recycled materials, with selected pieces supporting mother-embroiderers in Silay and local seamstresses across Bacolod and Talisay.
●       Ellege Handcrafted Fashion keeps Negros Occidental's intricate hand-smocking tradition alive, translating a painstaking heritage technique into elegant contemporary clothing.
●       And Arête brings handcrafted island-style accessories made with indigenous Philippine materials and created in partnership with local Local fashion, but make it unmistakably Negrense.
 
4. Bring a little bit of Negros home.

Consider this fair dangerous territory for anyone who says, “I'm just looking.”
 
●       Hacienda Crafts transforms abaca, rattan, bamboo and coconut twigs into export-grade lighting and home décor while providing livelihoods to sugarcane communities during tiempo muerto. Around 90% of its artisans are local mothers who weave from home.
●       Tumandok Crafts Industries turns carefully treated capiz shells into premium houseware and statement décor, preserving a craft it has developed since 1988.
●       Meanwhile, Artisana Island Crafts combines ceramics with wild pandan harvested from the foothills of Mt. Kanlaon to create eco-luxury table décor while supporting livelihoods for wives of local sugarcane farmers.

These aren't simply beautiful objects. They're pieces of Negros—and the communities behind them—that you can bring home.
 
5. Be among the first to discover what's new.

Here's where the 40th gets particularly exciting. Five product specialists from the Design Center of the Philippines went directly into Negros workshops to collaborate with ANP makers, exploring local raw materials and combining time-honored skills with contemporary design perspectives. The result? Fresh, market-ready collections debuting at the 40th Negros Trade Fair, alongside the 2026 Bulawan Awards pieces.
 
6. Find something you never expected to buy.

One of the best things about NTF has always been discovery.
 
●       A typhoon once stripped Chef Mae Selene Puentespina-Resultay's Sarisa trees of their fruit. Instead of looking at what was lost, she looked at what remained—the leaves—and eventually transformed them into Rensel's crispy Sarisa Chips.
●       Artist Ramon De los Santos makes his official NTF debut with Lutak Art Sculptures, combining clay and raw earth in textured works inspired by the nostalgia of Larong Pinoy.
●       And NVC Foundation transforms discarded materials such as broken tiles and used Nespresso capsules into intricate mosaic art, with every purchase helping fund nutrition, education and livelihood initiatives in Negros Occidental.
 
7. Because when the right partners open doors, local businesses can go further.

The Negros Trade Fair has always been more than a place to shop. For four decades, it has helped give Negrense entrepreneurs a marketplace for their creativity, craftsmanship and products. This milestone edition builds on that legacy by bringing together ANP, the Provincial Government, SM Supermalls through the SM for MSMEs program and SMX Aura around a shared opportunity: helping more Filipino enterprises reach more people.
 
Through SM for MSMEs, SM helps bring platforms such as the Negros Trade Fair closer to a ready, high-traffic market—providing entrepreneurs with greater market access, business visibility and opportunities to connect with customers.
 
It's an idea at the heart of SM for MSMEs: when Filipino entrepreneurs are given the right marketplace and the right opportunities, small businesses have more room to grow.
 
After 40 years, NTF offers plenty of proof of what can happen when communities, entrepreneurs and partners grow together. 40 years brought them here. Come see where they go next. BÚTLAK is more than an anniversary. It's a chance to taste recipes passed through generations, wear craftsmanship reimagined for today, bring home extraordinary Filipino design, meet the people behind the products—and support businesses helping keep Negrense culture and enterprise thriving. So come hungry. Come curious. And perhaps come with an extra shopping bag!

●       BÚTLAK: The 40th Negros Trade Fair
●       September 22–27, 2026
●       SMX Convention Center Aura
 
Taste it. Wear it. Bring it home. And be part of the next 40 years of Negros.