TRAILS UP NORTH

Glo Abaeo Tuazon
February festivals

The month of February is bursting at the seams with festivals and other activities. Aside from the lure of Valentines’s Day in the air, the north has a line up of different things to do and places to visit. Sagada is still reeling from the just concluded town festival events when Baguio formally opened the Flower Festival last week with a grand parade and field demonstration at the Athletic Bowl.

To the excitement of the crowd, police skydivers were flown to the city for a stint, something that has been scrapped the past years for quite sometime. The Baguio festival dubbed Panagbenga or “Season of bloom” would be a month long celebration and everyday has something new to show.

Drive eight to nine hours from Baguio City and you arrive at Mayoyao, Ifugao. The group Pochon has arranged an activity to highlight the planting season in the area. The event entitled Pfukhay ad Majaojao would run February 6-8 showcasing activities as unique as the place and the people in it.

There would be a demo on the building of the indigenous Majaojao hut and cultural shows and dances such as the hang-hangnget, ngajaw and tajaw. Participants would experience the traditional way of planting rice and would be sharing a meal with community people of Barangay Mapoway. The majestic Majaojao Terraces are very good photography subjects too.

Go to Tabuk, Kalinga from there and mingle with the colorful and beaded tribes of the province. The Ullalim Festival is slated to start Valentine’s Day and end two days later on the 16th. Coincidentally, Kalinga Day is also on the 14th so they have double the reason to celebrate. The three day activity would entail daily parades from Dagupan to the Capitol.

Back in Benguet, Kabayan is hosting its very first Mt. Tabayok Trudge. Indulge in a day of dirt road adventure to get to the summit of the Philippine’s 5th highest mountain at 9322ft above sea level. Go on a tour to the four mystical lakes of Tabeyo, Incolos, Detepngepos and Ambulalakao, the last lake being repeatedly adjudged as one of the cleanest inland lakes of the country.

Visit the National Museum branch at the heart of the municipality and go shopping around for indigenous products. While there, enjoy the hospitality of the shy but welcoming people at the same time tasting their dokto, kinuday, gipah tea, tapuey and native coffee. This exhilarating activity is scheduled Feb. 14-15.

If the travel tires you easily, there is Tinongdan, Itogon to visit also. Only an hour and a half ride from the city central and one arrives at the place of Norberto Pacio, the barangay captain whose persistence and hard work put their barangay into the tourism map of Benguet. The fiesta starts on Feb. 13 and ends on the 15th. In between those times are games, trade fairs, a parade and cultural shows.

Another barangay fiesta is also under way on Feb. 20-22. Travel to Barangay Central in Kapangan and join in the merrymaking. Concerts, games, pageants, competitions are aplenty. Their street dancing parade would be interesting as they agreed to use indigenous and recyclable materials for costumes.

A unique line up of other activities to include an animal parade, cockfights of holo, and the Mr. Ironman – Codal. A day is never dull when you immerse yourself and make friends with the jolly locals. You can even try and be part of their “grand march”. While at it, go around Kapangan to visit their newly opened tourism sites with the guidance of the KEGA group. Caves, mountains, rivers and mountains are endless opportunities to discover.

Also on February 20-23, 2009 is the Dapil Festival in Bangued, Abra. Endure the heat of the place while enjoying the heat of the festivities. -- Email: twilight_glo@yahoo.com