Panagbenga Festival – Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom

Baguio city is the Philippines‘ renowned flower-abundant city and what better way to take advantage of such abundance is to flaunt it in the grandest manner possible that not only will it put the city at the top of the tourism map, but will also awaken the once devastated hearts of the people of Baguio after the 1990 Luzon earthquake. The Baguio Flower festival, as Panagbenga was formerly known, has been shown to represent a “newer and a much progressive” Baguio city, known to be very unique in its culture with its 11 ethnic tribes.

Panagbenga means “a season of blossoming”, a term derived from a Kankanaey word. It perfectly conforms to the festival’s theme, “Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom” that ponders to the city’s response to its culture and tourism progression and also to honor the abundance of the beautiful flowers in Baguio city. Panagbenga festival enhances the essence of Baguio’s Igorot ethnic culture as presented for Baguio’s best features. The participants in the street dancing performance are dressed up in the form of flowers incorporating various blooms among its 11 ethnic tribes. This is inspired by the Cordilleran-based celebration of Ibaloi dance called the Bendian.

Panagbenga festival of Baguio city is not only one of the best festivals in the Philippines, but also one of the longest-held events in the country with it’s month long festival celebration consisting of the usual street dancing competition, a unique floral and float parade that is vibrated with the echoing sound of native gongs, market encounter, marching band competitions and a lot of other fun and entertaining activities that will make ones trip to Baguio city worthwhile.

Aside from generating business for the community, the festival’s aim is to showcase the best of what Baguio city has to offer. Because Panagbenga is held every February of each year, as believed to be the month of inactivity, the festival assists the city in its preparation for the dry months ahead. Baguio city, the city of Pines, is known to be the summer capital of the Philippines with its cool climate, draws more foreign tourists and fellow-Filipinos to take refuge from the normally “hot” weather of the country. It capitalizes the city’s comfortable climate state as part of its promotion towards its tourism advancement. Since the Panagbenga festival had first started out, it had then become one of the biggest events in the Philippines in which many of the festival-enthusiasts never fail to miss.

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