Panagbenga Festival
Street parade at the Panagbenga Festival in 2023
BeginsFebruary 1
EndsFirst Sunday in March
Venue
Location(s)Baguio
CountryPhilippines
InauguratedFebruary 1996; 28 years ago (1996-02)

The Panagbenga Festival (Kankanaey pronunciation: [pɐnɐgˈbɯŋaˈ]) (transl. Flower Festival) is a month-long annual flower occasion in Baguio, Philippines. The festival, held in February, was created as a tribute to the city's flowers and as a way to rise from the devastation of the 1990 Luzon earthquake.[1] The festival includes floats that are covered mostly with flowers, not unlike those used in Pasadena's Rose Parade. The festival also includes street dancing, presented by dancers clad in flower-inspired costumes, that is inspired by the Bendian, an Ibaloi dance of celebration that came from the Cordilleras.

Etymology

The term is of Kankanaey origin, meaning "season of blooming".[2]

History

In 1995, lawyer Damaso E. Bangaoet, Jr. (1940–2014), then a managing director for Camp John Hay,[3] proposed a flower festival to the board of directors of John Hay Poro Point Development Corporation.[4] The City of Baguio was known for its flowers, but most of these actually come from nearby La Trinidad, the provincial capital of the province of Benguet.[5] The festival was set in February to boost tourism as it was considered as a time of inactivity between the busy days of the Christmas season, Holy Week, and the summer season.[6]

The first edition of the festival, once known as the Baguio Flower Festival, was formally launched in February 1996.[4] By the end of 1996, archivist and curator Ike Picpican suggested that the festival be renamed Panagbenga, a Kankanaey term that means "a season of blossoming, a time for flowering". Subsequent editions of the festival started bearing the new name by 1997.[5]

The Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA), in collaboration with the John Hay Poro Point Development Corporation's (JPDC)[7] annual Camp John Hay Art Contest, gave its official logo from one of the entries: a spray of indigenous sunflowers from an artwork submitted by Trisha Tabangin, a student of the Baguio City National High School.[5]

Panagbenga festivities were cancelled in 2020[8][9] and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 6, 2022, the festival returned with limited events that were exclusively funded by private donors, as government funds were directed towards ongoing COVID relief.[10][11] By 2023, all festival events, including street dancing and float parades, resumed.[12]

Activities

A typical float at the Panagbenga Festival in 2009

The month-long festival starts on the first day of February with an opening parade.[13] Activities celebrated throughout the month include a landscape competition and cultural shows; street dancing and float parades during the last week of February draw huge crowds. After the parade, Session Road is closed for a week for the Session Road in Bloom activity which hosts a variety of stalls showcasing products locally and from other provinces.[13] The festival concludes in the first weekend in March with a grand fireworks display.

References

  1. ^ "Panagbenga Festival 2018 – Baguio City Philippines". Panagbenga Festival 2018. Archived from the original on December 26, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Montley, Patricia (2005). In Nature's Honor: Myths And Rituals Celebrating The Earth. Skinner House Books. p. 63. ISBN 9781558964860. Retrieved February 1, 2008.
  3. ^ Soliman, Michelle Anne P. (February 7, 2020). "Panagbenga 2020: Staying in bloom". BusinessWorld. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Malanes, Maurice (February 19, 2014). "Panagbenga: Sustaining a Baguio tradition". Inquirer. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Ressureccion, Bona Elisa (February 17, 2014). "Panagbenga Festival: A history". The Philippine Star. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  6. ^ "Panagbenga 2008 launched". SunStar Baguio. November 30, 2007. Retrieved February 2, 2008.
  7. ^ Pedrasa, Ira (February 9, 2003). "Panagbenga: Festival of Flowers and Schools of Thought". Bulatlat. Retrieved February 2, 2008.
  8. ^ "Baguio cancels Panagbenga 2020". CNN Philippines. March 9, 2020. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  9. ^ "Baguio cancels Panagbenga, CARAA games amid coronavirus threat". Rappler. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  10. ^ "Panagbenga festival special edition opens on March 6". Manila Bulletin. March 5, 2022.
  11. ^ "Gongs herald Panagbenga return". Philippine Daily Inquirer. March 7, 2022.
  12. ^ Tunac, Hermes Joy (February 26, 2023). "Panagbenga festival returns to the streets with a vibrant Grand Float parade". GMA Integrated News. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Agoot, Liza; Moaje, Marita (February 26, 2023). "Panagbenga proof of Baguio resilience from crisis". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved February 4, 2024.

External links

Baguio
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