25th Panagbenga launched

BAGUIO. Students perform during the launching of the 25th Panagbenga Festival on December 16 during the flag raising ceremony, highlighting the festival’s blooming through the years. (Photo by Glenn Pat-ogan)
BAGUIO. Students perform during the launching of the 25th Panagbenga Festival on December 16 during the flag raising ceremony, highlighting the festival’s blooming through the years. (Photo by Glenn Pat-ogan)

THE 25th staging of next year’s Baguio Flower Festival seeks to highlight Panagbenga’s blooming through the years.

In the launching ceremony at the Baguio City Hall on December 16, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who sits as chairman of the Baguio Flower Festival Incorporated (BFFI) said the staging of the annual festival will be fully supported by the City Government to ensure smooth undertaking of the month-long Panagbenga done in February.

“We would like to inform the public that this year’s staging of the annual Baguio Flower Festival will be privately led headed by the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Incorporated and supported by the City Government of Baguio to ensure a smooth undertaking of this year’s Panagbenga with this year’s theme, ‘Blooming through the years,’” Magalong said.

The opening parade will feature a lyre and drum competition between the bands of local elementary schools on February 1, 2020 starting from the Panabenga Park at the corner of South Drive and Loakan Road, proceeding along Upper Session Road to Harrison Road then to Burnham Park.

Various activities will be held during the month-long festival, culminating in the parades on the weekend with the street dancing parade on February 29 and the grand flower float parade on March 1.

Among the traditional activities of the festival is the landscaping exhibition and competition, school-based landscaping competition, Philippine Military Academy alumni homecoming weekend, “Handog ng Panagbenga sa Pamilya Baguio”, “Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom”, kite flying competition, cultural shows, flower tee golf tournament, sponsors day, the weeklong Session Road in bloom, pony boys day and capped with the closing ceremonies and fireworks display on March 8.

The month-long Baguio Blooms Exposition at the Lake Drive in Burnham Park will be relocated to the Baguio Convention Center parking area to help ease traffic during the month long festival at the said park.

“We will clear the parking area of the Baguio Convention Center which will house the Baguio Blooms Exposition so that this will fully be available and accommodate those involved in the exposition because we will not allow Burnham Park to be used because it’s beyond the commerce of man and we have to clear it whether they like it or not, I am giving an instruction that by February, that will be cleared,” Magalong said.

BFFFI co-chairman Anthony De Leon have taken note of BFFFI board member Jody Alabanza’s reminder for the floats joining next year’s parade to symbolize Panagbenga’s blooming through the years through the designs of the floats in next year’s float parade.

Meanwhile, despite the traffic volume experienced in previous weekends prior to the opening of the Panagbenga, Magalong reiterated measures are being done to ensure the easing of the traffic problem come the yearly activity.

“We are fast tracking the procurement of our traffic lights because we cannot calibrate our traffic lights at this time, because of the missing and destroyed controllers with the last calibration done 25 years ago, second is we are presently doing a lot of traffic experimentation, now in the one way and two way areas in the city to make sure we remove the conflict junctions and intersections, third is we are now revising the geometric designs of our islands, fourth is, we are waiting for the final study of the Metro Manila Development Authority for us to implement the changes the we need to do with regards to the utilization of the traffic simulation software,” the mayor added.

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