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

Forty years. Generations of makers. One landmark celebration of everything Negros — back at SM.

Forty years of Negrense creativity, craftsmanship, and enterprise — all coming together under one roof. Food, fashion, home, and craftsmanship at BÚTLAK: The 40th Negros Trade Fair, in partnership with SM for MSMEs, brings homegrown businesses closer to more customers and opportunities at SMX Convention Center Aura, September 22–27.

Some fairs are worth the trip for the shopping. Others for the food. BÚTLAK: The 40th Negros Trade Fair gives you forty years of reasons to show up. 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 within reach of Metro Manila shoppers for its milestone anniversary.

Through SM for MSMEs, SM Supermalls continues its longstanding collaboration with the Association of Negros Producers (ANP), giving Negrense entrepreneurs a high-visibility marketplace where their products, stories, and craftsmanship can find new customers and new markets.

This year's theme, BÚTLAK, is about legacy moving forward with fresh energy — honoring the flavors, craftsmanship, and stories that turned the fair into an institution, while giving Negrense creativity a distinctly contemporary edge. Whether you're coming to eat, shop, discover something new, or all three, here are seven reasons this milestone edition belongs on your calendar.

1. Because the Big 4-0 Is Going Big

Forty years doesn't come around often. More than 115 Negrense entrepreneurs are preparing to fill 178 booths with the best the island has to offer — food, fashion, handcrafted furniture, home accents, art, and more. For longtime NTF regulars, it's a homecoming. For first-timers, this might be the year to finally see what's kept generations of shoppers coming back. Six days, 178 booths, one island's creativity under a single roof.

Hot off the griddle — and always worth the wait! One of the most sought-after experiences at the Negros Trade Fair is watching the iconic piaya freshly heated and served warm on-site. Crisp on the outside with its sweet, gooey filling inside, this beloved Negrense delicacy proves that some favorites are simply best enjoyed fresh, warm, and straight from the fair.

2. Come Hungry — Very Hungry

Ask any NTF regular what they're most looking forward to, and food usually tops the list.

●        21 Restaurant is bringing Bacolod favorites including its Signature Batchoy, Spanish-style Boquerones, and Lola Nitang's Bibingka.

●        Quan Delicacies brings the full Negrense comfort-food haul: classic kakanin, napoleones, chicken pie, and Frozen Sud-an — including Cansi — alongside newer creations like Puto Sorbetes and Batuan Focaccia.

●        Sir and Ma'am Restaurant is serving its heirloom Morcon, a family recipe dating back to 1962.

●        Casa Carmela rounds it out with small-batch Negrense dishes and pantry staples worth stocking up on.

Come hungry. Leave with enough pasalubong to make everyone back home very happy.

Discover old favorites and new finds from Quan Delicacies, Casa Carmela, 21 Restaurant, Sir and Ma'am Restaurant, and more — proof that at the Negros Trade Fair, there's always something worth coming back for seconds.

3. Wear Negros Differently

This isn't heritage that stays behind glass. At BÚTLAK, traditional craftsmanship works its way into pieces built for today's actual wardrobe.

●        Tia Lacson The Label's Medina Collection offers effortless resort dressing in natural linen, lace, fine piña, and recycled materials — with select 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, wearable pieces.

●        Arête brings handcrafted, island-style accessories made with indigenous Philippine materials, created in partnership with local artisans — local fashion, unmistakably Negrense.

Negrense style, reimagined. From contemporary fashion to handcrafted accessories, local makers bring heritage, artistry, and modern design together — unmistakably Negros.

4. Bring a Little Bit of Negros Home

Consider this fair dangerous territory for anyone who claims they're “just looking.”

Hacienda Crafts turns 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 weaving from home.

Hacienda Crafts: Woven with purpose. Local materials become beautiful home pieces while creating livelihoods for Negrense artisan communities.

Tumandok Crafts Industries turns carefully treated capiz shells into premium houseware and statement décor, a craft it's refined since 1988, while Artisana Island Crafts pairs ceramics with wild pandan harvested from the foothills of Mt. Kanlaon to create eco-luxury table décor — supporting livelihoods for the wives of local sugarcane farmers along the way.

Crafted by nature, shaped by Negros. Capiz, ceramics, and wild pandan are transformed into distinctive pieces that bring Negrense artistry home.

These aren't just beautiful objects. They're pieces of Negros — and the communities behind them — that you actually get to take home.

5. Be Among the First to Discover What's New

Here's where the 40th edition gets genuinely interesting. Five product specialists from the Design Center of the Philippines went directly into Negros workshops to work alongside ANP makers, exploring local raw materials and pairing time-honored skills with a more contemporary design sensibility. The result: fresh, market-ready collections debuting at the 40th Negros Trade Fair, alongside this year's Bulawan Awards pieces.

After four decades, Negros isn't just looking back — it's actively designing what comes next.

6. Find Something You Never Expected to Buy

One of NTF's most reliable pleasures has always been discovery.

A typhoon once stripped Chef Mae Selene Puentespina-Resultay's Sarisa trees of their fruit. Rather than dwell on the loss, she turned to what was left — the leaves — and eventually turned them into Rensel's crispy Sarisa Chips.

Come for your favorites, leave with a new discovery. From Sarisa chips and mosaic art to clay sculptures, NTF is full of unexpected finds shaped by creativity, resourcefulness, and purpose.

Artist Ramon De los Santos makes his official NTF debut with Lutak Art Sculptures, blending clay and raw earth into textured works inspired by the nostalgia of Larong Pinoy. And NVC Foundation turns discarded materials — broken tiles, used Nespresso capsules — into intricate mosaic art, with every purchase helping fund nutrition, education, and livelihood programs in Negros Occidental.

Made in Negros, designed to stand out. Natural and repurposed materials are handcrafted into one-of-a-kind décor and art pieces — showcasing the ingenuity behind Negrense craftsmanship.

Come looking for your favorites. Leave having discovered a new one.

7. Because When the Right Partners Open Doors, Local Businesses Go Further

The Negros Trade Fair has always been more than a place to shop. For four decades, it's given Negrense entrepreneurs a real 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 one shared goal: helping more Filipino enterprises reach more people.

Through SM for MSMEs, SM helps bring platforms like the Negros Trade Fair closer to a ready, high-traffic market — giving entrepreneurs greater market access, more business visibility, and real opportunities to connect with customers.

It's the idea at the heart of SM for MSMEs: give Filipino entrepreneurs the right marketplace and the right opportunities, and small businesses find more room to grow.

After 40 years, NTF offers plenty of proof of what happens when communities, entrepreneurs, and partners grow together. Forty years brought them here — come see where they go next. BÚTLAK is more than an anniversary. It's a chance to taste recipes passed down through generations, wear craftsmanship reimagined for today, bring home extraordinary Filipino design, meet the people behind the products, and support the businesses keeping Negrense culture and enterprise thriving. So come hungry, come curious, and maybe bring 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.

About SM Supermalls – SM for MSMEs

SM Supermalls is one of Southeast Asia's largest mall developers and operators. For generations, SM has grown alongside Filipino communities by creating destinations where people, businesses, and opportunities come together. Through SM for MSMEs, SM continues to evolve with the needs of Filipino entrepreneurs by creating opportunities that help businesses start, grow, and thrive. From market access and business visibility to strategic partnerships and entrepreneurship platforms, SM empowers MSMEs across different stages and sectors — connecting homegrown brands with more customers and communities nationwide. My SM. Your Most Loved Supermall.