All systems go for Panagbenga events

COMMUNITY BILLBOARD
Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY – Tourists have all the reasons to visit thiss Summer Capital starting February 1, 2012 with the blockbuster events lined up for the staging of the 17th edition of “Panagbenga,” popularly known as the Baguio Flower Festival as festivities are set to kick off on Wednesday.

Sixteen elementary and secondary drum and lyre and streetdancing contingents will be spicing up the opening salvo of the flower festival Wednesday morning as they march down Session Road up to the Melvin Jones grandstand where they will show to the public their respective pieces during the streetdancing competition.

Anthony de Leon, Panagbenga executive co-chairman, said visitors and local residents will be treated to the superb and spectacular performances of the streetdancers considering that they will be showcasing new innovations in their performances as their choreography was supervised by the Baguio Cultural Society.

Simultaneous with the grand streetdancing competition on the first day of the festival, the Panagbenga market encounter, which showcases internationally landscape and floral designs, will be penned to the public where more than 100 landscapers and floral designers will be competing right within the heart of Burnham Park. The market encounter will run through the duration of the flower festival until March 4.

The theme of this year’s 17th edition of Panagbenga is “Community Convergence for a Sustainable Tourism Growth.”

On February 12, 2012, the public will be witnessing the local version of the fluvial parade where flower-decorated boats will be parading at the Burnham Lake which will be a pre-Valentine treat to everyone.

“We assure our visitors and local residents that this year’s Panagbenga activities will be an improvement of the previous years. The streetdancing participants will showcase their sterling performances with their new choreography which was introduced by the Baguio Cultural Society,” de Leon stressed.

On February 25, 2012, which is one of the highlights of the Panagbenga, streetdancers from different parts of the archipelago will participate in the grand streetdancing competition. The streetdancers will first parade on the city’s main streets such as Session road, Magsaysay Avenue, Bonifacio Street, Harrison Road before again performing in front of the public at the Baguio Athletic Bowl.

By Feb. 26, around 30 floats, which are decorated with fresh flowers, will be participating in the grand float parade and marching bands competition.

From Feb. 27 to March 4, Session Road, the city’s main thoroughfare, will be closed to vehicular traffic to pave the way for its conversion into a promenade area with sidewalk cafes and establishments displaying various items with floral decorations. During the said week, various local and national artists will be performing in a stage at the top of Session Road purposely to entertain the huge volume of visitors and local residents who are expected to enjoy in the Session Road in Bloom.

Expected to grace the highlights of the Panagbenga will be United States Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Board of Trustees of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines and other ambassadors from different parts of the global village who want to witness this year’s flower festival activities.

The Panagbenga is a community-lead and government-supported event in order to spur the development of the local tourism industry, especially during the lean months to ensure sustained tourism growth for both Baguio and nearby Benguet province.