“IT IS MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES”

This is the most used tagline in promoting the Philippines. They say that it is more fun in the Philippines because of its naturally beautiful tourist’s spots. Besides of its tourist spots, most tourists are visiting the Philippines for the festivals.

DO YOU KNOW THAT FESTIVALS IN THE PHILIPPINES ARE VERY OVERRATED AND IT IS ONE OF THE AWAITED EVENTS OF THE YEAR?

Festivals are one of the happiest events that Filipinos are waiting for. One of the examples of festival is the Penagbenga Festival or the Flower Festival in Baguio City. But, why are we celebrating festivals in the Philippines?

In the first place festivals are traditional way. Celebrating festivals give us sense of enjoyment, excitement, relaxation and offer time to bond with family members. One of the most popular festivals in the Philippines is the Penagbenga Festival. It is held yearly during the month of February. The celebrations are held for over a month and peak periods are the weekends. The Penagbenga Festival showcases the many floral floats and native dances. The fragrant smells that could be presently teasing olfactory senses are probably less from the now-dried flowers from Valentine’s Day than air floating all the way from Baguio City.

At this time of year, the City of Pines is almost surely in flower fury over Penagbenga festival, the city’s biggest festival. Penagbenga is a kankanaey term for “a season of blooming.” It is also known as the Baguio Flower Festival, homage to the beautiful flowers the city is famous for as well as a celebration of Baguio’s re-establishment. Since February 1995, it has been held to help Baguio forget the 1990 earthquake that distressed much of the city. Penagbenga festival will have spectators enjoying a multiple floral and float parades over two days.

The Baguio Flower Festival Association (BFFA) will have a street dancing parade and band exhibition. The Baguio Flower Festival Foundation (BFFF), meanwhile, will hold a parade. So where should spectators be stationed to not miss any of the float and floral parades?

Session Road and Burnham Park. A search for the Mr. and Ms. Baguio Flower Festival, FM Penagbenga Pop Fiesta, Skateboard competition and Dolls of Japan exhibit were added to the BFFA calendar. The festival is supported by constituents of La Trinidad, La Union, Pangasinan, Marinduque and Masbate. Often a Cañao is an undertaken to kick-off & celebrate the occasion.

A Cañao is a dance that also is regularly performed at special occasions such as fiestas. In this two-person dance, the men hang blankets usually woven with an indigenous pattern or design-over each shoulder. The woman wraps a single similar blanket around her. The man leads her and dances in a circle with a hop-skip tempo to the beat of sticks and gongs. The dance must continue until the viewers decide to honor the dancers twice with a shout of “Ooo wag, hoy! hoy!” Once this has happened, the dancers can stop. It is an honor to be invited to join the dance, and elders and other respected members of the community are expected to join in at every occasion. Other notable events: Bulaklak Rock Battle of the Bands at the Skating Rink; Local Arts Show at the People’s Park; Veteran Records Skateboard Competition at the Skating; Dolls of Japan Exhibit and Eiga Sai at the Baguio Convention Center Lobby; Kitefest at the Athletic Bowl.

GETTING THERE: Baguio is easy to get to by air and land transportation. From Manila, the latter is the more popular choice, although at this time of the year, it may prove to be a hassle. If you prefer to fly to the City of Pines, some airlines maintain a daily schedule of flights from Manila to Baguio and back, like Asian Spirit. If, however, you go for a four-hour joyride, there are a variety of bus companies, garage cars, and tour operators for the convenience of tourists and visitors.

Therefore, Penagbenga Festival is one of the festival reflects the history, traditions and values of Baguio and the Cordilleras. This kind of events should be cherished in honor of the Philippine traditions and culture.