Baguio Flower Festival postponed again

BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — The staging of the popular Baguio Flower Festival, which was poised for a relaunch in February after it was canceled last year prior to the Luzon lockdown, has been postponed again.

The Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc. (BFFFI), which stages Panagbenga, opted to move the event during or after summer in light of the awaited rollout of vaccines this year, as well as reports that a more contagious strain of the coronavirus disease has been detected in the country, said Andrew Pinero, the group’s spokesperson.

“We can wait a few months for the vaccine to be rolled out. This decision was based on our primary concern for the health and safety of the residents,” he said.

EXTRAVAGANZA Schoolchildren brought light, color and\n energy to the annual Baguio Flower Festival that was last staged in February 2019. The 2020 event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s Panagbenga has been moved to another month to give Baguio time to inoculate its residents. —EV ESPIRITU

380,000 doses

The city government has snagged 380,000 doses of the vaccine through a deal with British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which would immunize more than 190,000 Baguio residents. The company, however, can deliver the vaccines only by July, prompting the government to seek out other suppliers.

Instead of the lavish street dancing and float parades, this year’s Panagbenga would be highlighted by community contests for plant enthusiasts, landscapers and survival gardens, said Evangeline Payno, BFFFI chief of staff.

Not feasible

While parades and all big gatherings were already prohibited under quarantine rules, the staging of street dances would also not be feasible given that schoolchildren and university students are unavailable, she said.

All classroom lessons have been delivered online, over television and radio, or through workbooks, particularly for quarantined children and teens who are younger than 17 years old.

Only the annual Carpet of Flowers landscaping competition, the banner painting event called “Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom” on Feb. 14, and the week-long downtown street bazaar called “Session Road in Bloom” from March 1 to 7 have been retained.

Staging a muted Panagbenga “is really more a commemoration to remind people why it was started in the first place,” Payno said.

The Flower Festival was conceived by civic leaders in 1995 to build up morale and draw back tourists as Baguio rebuilt from the devastation wrought by the 1990 Luzon earthquake, she said.

Empty streets

In Bulacan province, empty streets greeted the staging of the 23rd Halamanan (Garden) Festival in Guiguinto town when it began on Jan. 11. It will run until Jan. 22.

It was the same situation for Bustos town’s 11th Minasa Festival, which also began on Jan. 11 and would end on Sunday. Minasa commemorates the specialty biscuits for which the town is known.

Because of the quarantine, all festival performances were broadcast online.

In previous Halamanan stagings, schools fielded students who were garbed in bright, colorful plant-inspired costumes, while all 14 Guiguinto villages paraded their top crop.

Recordings of these early performances were broadcast online. The video presentation which draws the most visitors would win this year’s competition.

From P4M to P1M

Guiguinto Mayor Ambrosio Cruz Jr. said the budget for Halamanan was reduced to P1 million from the previous year’s P4 million.

Bustos Mayor Francis Juan said the Minasa Festival this week was highlighted by a demonstration of how minasa cookies are made, as well as cooking shows by chefs who produced the best minasa side dishes.

Juan said families who love to perform for the online app “Tik Tok” participated in an online dance showdown to the tune of “Nagkakaisa sa Labing Isa,” the festival theme song.

The Minasa Festival coincides with Bustos’ 104th year founding anniversary. —CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE AND VINCENT CABREZA