Panagbenga: A fusion of colors and a pocketful of memories

MANILA, Philippines - On its 20th year, the Panagbenga Flower Festival successfully climaxed once again, with mainly a couple of distinct extravaganzas — the Grand Street Dancing Parade, where performers eagerly flaunted their zeal and dynamism, and the ever-so-popular, the Grand Float Parade highlighted by the iconic gardens in motion.

With eye-catching colorful costumes, inspired by history and tradition, heritage and culture, blooms and blossoms, the street dancing competition had participants of all ages bursting with energy and enthusiasm. The first prize winners in the school level division were the Mabini Elementary School, and the Baguio City National High School. For the Open Category, which included troupers from other provinces, the crown was awarded to the Pamulinawen Dance Group from Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.

On the following day, several floats, artistically and innovatively decorated with flowers and petals, leaves and moss, twigs and branches, seeds and bark — even the roots  from plants, shrubs and trees — were utilized to ingenuously design the ungainly trucks into massive moving works of art, which seemingly drifted through the main streets of the City of Baguio.

The North Luzon Expressway, better known as NLEX, garnered the top prize. The Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), Jollibee, The Manor of Camp John Hay and M Lhuillier completed the Magic Circle of this year’s best.

However, these are just two of the many events and encounters held during the month-long fiesta eagerly awaited by residents and visitors alike.

There was the Handog Panagbenga sa Pamilya sa Baguio, an entire day and night solely dedicated to the locals, wherein the families and relatives, friends and colleagues participated in fun group activities such as banner painting, kite-flying, and a number of variety shows at the Melvin Jones Grandstand and Football Grounds.

Session Road in Bloom made way to the closure of the city’s most popular road to vehicles, where it annually blossoms into a cornucopia of sterling restaurants and popular bars, captivating horticultural shops and stalls, featuring sought-after products from the area and the neighboring provinces, which included endearing souvenirs and a bucketful of pasalubongs.

Proud of its collective green thumb, the organizer, the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc., with the festival chairman Anthony de Leon and co-chair Freddie Alquiros and ably supported by the city government with the active Mayor Mauricio Domogan at its helm, likewise sponsored plant and flower fairs, showcasing floral arrangement and vertical garden contests, and landscaping competitions for enthusiasts.

Riding high on the nostalgic first horse love affair from cherished childhood days, another reason for entertainment was the Pony Boys’ Day, a rodeo exhibition with the much loved equine friends.

The much-anticipated and well-attended Baguio Blooms at the Lake Drive Burnham Park, which was celebrated for a whole month was the ideal place to take home a diverse selection of fresh flowers and ferns, and trays of hope-they-will-grow-in-my-garden plants, frequently seen and never-before-seen trinkets and baubles of all kinds, appreciated pasalubongs for all tummy sizes, and a collection of bargain items not found in the usual tiangges.

The Closing Ceremonies at the Athletic Bowl ended with a fantastic fireworks display from five strategically located points of origin, where everyone no matter where he stood within the city, got an unobstructed view.

With each passing year, Panagbenga never ceases amaze me in more ways than I can count.

On my easy drive back home, I recalled with admiration the full-of-ideas float-makers and loyal employees of the participating government agencies and business entities for their hard-to-come-by imagination and down-to-the-last-detail professional execution of the complex movable obra maestras they passionately handcrafted.

I remember with fondness the eager students from elementary to high schools, colleges and universities, lovingly supported by parents and guardians, for awesome presentations for our entertainment, a testimony of absolute dedication to countless hours of rehearsals.

I salute the cadets of the Philippine Military Academy and the Philippine National Police, the ever-ready Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and many delegations from concerned companies and NGOs, organizations and associations, who served as street marshals and other assignments too many to mention, with always the right attitude of service, thus maintained order and discipline and made certain all events ran as smoothly as possible.

I extend warm handshakes to the paramedics and medical teams on standby, who were complete with the appropriate what-it-takes in case of emergencies, on easy-to-spot locations.

Enhorabuena to the traffic enforcers for cleverly adapting well-studied, often-reviewed on-the-spot decisions to address a possible congestion, as cars and more vehicles were immediately rerouted, clearing street lanes whenever the need arose. Throughout my weekend stay for the Grand Parades, I constantly felt the proper coordination and guidance which eliminated issues of inefficiency and inconveniences, and replaced by a sense of discipline and order.

 Hallelujah to the countless genuine volunteers, much to be admired and whose sense of public service ought to be emulated. Among them were the street cleaners who were never too far to commence their task as soon as the crowds moved on to other sites and activities.

Hats off to the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc. and the City Government of Baguio, the tireless organizers of the country’s premier flower festival, for yet another great show at the Summer Capital. To them, I say kudos for cultivating the culture of discipline, generosity, and caring among the people of Baguio and its environs, which in addition to the multitude of things to do, see, and experience, are the intangible components that will always make Baguio City’s Panagbenga Flower Festival worth visiting again and again and again.

Our sincerest thanks to Ramon Cabrera, general manager of The Manor and Billy King of Le Chef for being gracious hosts. Photos by Edu Jarque