BENGUET flower growers will have a chance to shine anew.
The 15th Baguio Flower Festival (BFF) float parade slated on February 28 will give local flower growers added profits.
"We will prioritize blooms from Benguet," Dangal Guevarra of the BFF organizing committee stressed.
The committee said the parade can accommodate as much as 40 floats to go down two-laned Session Road for the day's festivities.
Guevarra said it has been advised to source flowers from Benguet before ordering from other places.
"We said that if the supply [of flowers] of the province is exhausted, that is when they [float participants] should get from other places," he said.
Last year, the local cut-flower industry assured enough flowers for All Saints' and All Souls' days to cope with increased public demand. Farmers gave the same assurance for this year's BFF.
Barangay Bahong, considered as the center of the local cut-flower industry in this part of Benguet, together with other cut-flower producing barangays of La Trinidad, such as Ambiong and Alno, will be the main source of blooms for the annual Panagbenga.
Guevarra said floats this year are also encouraged to use real blooms to adorn their floats, which will vie for awards.
Not only flower farmers hope for additional profits from the yearly spectacle. Vegetable farmers and traders also expect to receive the windfall of the major tourism event of the city.
The month of February is the time for strawberries to fill the markets, as the trend dictates the luscious produce to be harvested next month.
A spill over of tourists visiting Baguio City is also expected for the neighboring towns.