Tanabata Festival featuring Jap culture starts in Baguio

By Paul Rillorta

BAGUIO CITY – A two-month long event is taking place in this mountain resort to commemorate the Philippine-Japan Friendship Month here.

The Tabanata Festival which is being celebrated on its fifth year is sponsored by the Embassy of Japan, the Japan Foundation in Manila, the JICA Philippine Office, the Japanese Association in Northern Luzon, the Filipino-Japanese Foundation of Northern Luzon (Abong), the National Correspondents Club of Baguio and the Baguio Museum, Inc. with the theme “Your Whisper to Twinkling Stars” and “Baguio Tabanata Festival in Aobajo Castle”.

Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda authored City Ordinance No. 66 which institutionalized July 23 of each year as the Filipino-Japanese Friendship Day which lauds the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The celebration of the Tabanata Festival was patterned after the biggest and most famous Sendai Tabanata Festival in Miyagi Prefecture in Japan which was inspired by the warrior Date Masamune.

Japanese Association of Northern Luzon President Hidenobu Oguni, over-all coordinator of the Tabanata Festival in the city said, “his dream is to attract more tourist in Baguio especially during the rainy season which is July and August.

The Sendai Tabanata Festival in Japan attracts more than 2 million tourist a year during the 3-day celebrations where they participate in community led activities like the community parade and lantern and streamer decorations.

“I hope that the festival will become bigger and bigger every year and the parade of colourful umbrellas, Japanese decorations will become a major attraction of the city, he said.

The festival is presently being supported by different organizations and schools, the Baguio City National high School (BCNHS), the Otageki Cosplay Association, the FDCP Baguio Cinematheque, the Bag-iw Art society, the UP Anime HQ, the UP SVA, the UB KawaiiKazoku, the Cordillera Green Network, the Benguet State University, the Saint Louis University, University of Baguio, University of the Cordilleras, University of the Philippines and the City of Baguio among others.

Also slated are Cosplay Tanabata Festival 3 by Otageki Cosplay Association on July 13, Philippine –Japan Friendship Day ceremony and cultural exchange by the Filipino-Japanese Foundation and National Correspondents Club of Baguio on July 20 and the Tanabata Decoration Workshop-Sendai Style Challenge on July 27.  

For the month of August, a Tanabata Decoration Workshop-Sendai Style Challenge will be held at the Baguio Museum on August 9 and the opening of Japanese Film Festival on August 10 at the Baguio Cinematheque, Casa Vallejo and the opening of the 5th Baguio Tanabata Festival and Trade Fair at the Baguio Museum together with other activities slated for the whole month.