A TRADE will be set at the Burnham Park skating rink come February.

Baguio Flower Festival (BFF) executive committee chairman Elmer Datuin announced bidding for the annual Market Encounter, the annual month long trade fair, is now open for takers.

Datuin said the skating rink area has been agreed to be utilized by organizers and will welcome bidders this week, in time for the opening of the Baguio Flower Festival next month.

The area can accommodate 320 stalls and will also be venue for the landscaping competition which will showcase at least 20 entries.

Last year, because of the bidding, the city earned P11 million from the event alone, an amount, Datuin hopes to top this year.

Datuin said a portion of the Rose garden will also be used for the event but underscored no roads will be closed so as not to hamper traffic flow.

The city council has nixed the use of Burnham Park’s Juan Luna Drive, for any trade fairs, to ease traffic and congestion in the central business district, forcing organizers of the festival to look for alternative sites.

The grand street dancing and float parades are set on March 2 and 3, veering from the traditional February schedules.

This year, the flower festival starts February 1 and ends on March 10 and is themed “Blooming Forward,” with changes eyed for the annual city event on its 24th year.

Datuin said, after the BFF, the rehabilitation and the bidding for the skating rink operations will be set.