Baguio’s annual Panagbenga Festival is a truly amazing feast for the eyes—with exceptionally beautiful and most creative display of flower-encrusted floats for the parade, in every perceivable shape, color and idea.
Mounting the “best” and the “most colorful” festival in the country is a collaborative effort—from the local government to the volunteers, from the organizers to the performers—everybody has a significant contribution.
“It makes us all closer. It brings out the best in all of us. Imagine there are more than 5,000 volunteers who make this annual festival possible,” said Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc. (BFFFI) co-founder Freddie Alquiros during a roundtable interview together with Baguio Mayor Mauricio Domogan and Anthony de Leon, co-chairman of the organizing committee.
“It was 1996 and we wanted to show that after the earthquake, Baguio was up and about. Visitors can come and see no traces of the earthquake and the devastation. Our primary reason was to reintroduce Baguio to the Filipinos,” Alquiros recalled alluding to the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that ravaged and turned the city into rubbles in 1990.
“Panagbenga is a Kankanaey term which means the season of flowering and blossoming,” shared Mayor Domogan, who is considered the “Father of the festival.”
“Holding the festival is a great way to keep the old tradition and culture of the city alive,” he added.
Now on its 24th edition, Baguio City officially kicked off the month-long Panagbenga celebrations on Feb. 1 with a grand opening parade featuring students dressed in their best flower costumes including those who were dressed in traditional Igorot outfits.
The grand street parade is happening today and the grand float parade will be tomorrow, March 3. From March 4 to 10 there will be run-up activities to the closing and awarding ceremonies on March 10, which will be concluded by grand fireworks.
And here are the things to know about the festival:
1. The best festival in the Philippines
Panagbenga is the only Philippine festival which is certified by International Festivals and Events Association, a non-profit association for producers, suppliers and managers of festivals and events, which range from small county and municipal events to large-scale parades that can have attendances in the hundreds of thousands. It has members in about 38 countries on five continents. (How is that for a starter?)
2. More than a million tourists
Panagbenga is living up to everyone’s expectations, no wonder more than a million tourists flock to the City of Baguio to experience its cool climate while joining in the festivities. It is a steady growing festival, which is essential in boosting the city’s tourism that creates more jobs for the locals.
3. Star-studded
The organizers of the festival also give credits to the country’s leading networks for bringing in their biggest stars to delight the crowd. Stars are always aplenty. Apart from the grand floats and street dancers, the festival draw thousands of tourists to the summer capital to cheer on the TV and movie stars on floats.
Last year, And Probinsyano star Coco Martin and GMA Artists like Megan Young, Mikael Daez, Ruru Madrid, Matt Evans, and Glaiza de Castro delighted the adoring crowd.
5. Sustainable tourism
BFFFI operates, organizes and manages the Panagbenga Festival to boost the tourism of Baguio and the rest of the Cordilleras through showcasing various events, exhibitions and activities that promote the history, traditions and values of Baguio and the Cordilleras which is sustained in an earth-friendly manner.
6. Grand Float Parade
From three floats parading the Summer Capital during its first edition, Panagbenga has now 24 floats on average. They are accompanied by some 120 members who act as street performers. This weekend, 26 flower-encrusted floats of varying sizes (from small-sized to truck-sized floats) are expected to transfixed the crowd as they roll down Session Road, Magsaysay Avenue and Harrison Road.
7. A well-rounded festival
While most tourists linked Panagbenga with the flowers, it’s more than just the blooms. From the opening parade to closing ceremonies, you can expect many things there including Panagbenga festival music, Panagbenga festival dance, food, shopping, street dance and much more.
8. Flowers and more flowers
Truckloads of flowers are used in a single float, put together by locals and private conglomerates who have been staples at the annual parade.
“People are growing more flowers. It’s a good business for the flower farmers. Some of them are breeding blooms specially for the festival. And if you’d ask what happens to these truckloads of blooms after the fest? They are used as compost. It’s a normal thing that you do to a plant or flower when it already served its purpose,” Alquiros concluded.