LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Preparations for the staging of the 2020 Strawberry Festival is now in place.

After the Flower Festival of Baguio City in February, tourists can also visit the staging of Strawberry Festival in Benguet’s capital town of La Trinidad, a neighboring town of the Summer Capital.

The strawberry festival executive committee have set meeting for the annual celebration tentatively slated on March 9 to 31, 2020 with an average budget ranging from P4 to P5 million.

Mayor Romeo Salda noted more than P1 million savings from the previous staging of the strawberry festival.

“We will confirm with the farmers for the supply of strawberries. An initial P500,000 has also been allocated for the purchase of additional seedlings,” he added.

Municipal Ordinance 5-2011 institutionalizes the conduct of La Trinidad Strawberry Festival every month of March in the municipality of La Trinidad.

Traditional activities include drum and lyre and street dancing parade, “duting tan dukto”, “dongba ni kabajo”, and a trade fair under the Strawberry Festival Ordinance to finance the different activities and events of the fest.

The celebration also features products of the 16 villages of the town and strawberries, its “One-town, One product”.

The chief executive added additional events from community will be evaluated by the committee.

La Trinidad is the holder of Guinness World record for the largest strawberry cake in 2005.

The town is the fastest growing economy among municipalities in the province of Benguet known for educational centers, trading hub for vegetable industry, and tourism sites.

Strawberry farms owned by Benguet State University in Barangay Betag is a top tourist destination for picking, tour and pasalubong center.

During the 38th staging of the festival, a 1.6-ton of strawberry cake was unveiled with 12,000 slices served by the Valley Bread who spearheaded the baking of the cake.