A time to bloom

February is the merriest month in Baguio City as the summer capital celebrates Panagbenga. —PHOTOS BY EV ESPIRITU

BAGUIO CITY—Grade school pupils were on the street as early as 5 a.m. on Feb. 1, ready to stage their best performances yet for the year.

In 12 groups, the youngsters took part in the opening street dancing parade for the 22nd Panagbenga (Baguio Flower Festival). Their exhilaration helped them shrug off the chilling temperature that dipped to 11 degrees Celsius two days before.

The flower festival was started in 1995 by local civic leaders as a way to draw back tourists after the city rebuilt from the devastation of the 1990 earthquake.

A collaboration initially between the Baguio government and the defunct John Hay Poro Point Development Corp., Panagbenga organizers developed parade rules and expanded the activities to cover the whole month of February and became a national event in two decades. The changes were dictated by political, social and economic conditions of the times.

February is the merriest month in Baguio City as the summer capital celebrates Panagbenga. —PHOTOS BY EV ESPIRITU

This year, the parade has incorporated new rules allowing small floats (the length of a sedan) to join the grand float parade to draw more corporate participants. It will still exhibit floats the size of small trucks, which sometimes cost up to P1 million to install.

But the event’s infectious joy always comes from the children, said Frederico Alquiros, vice chair of the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc. (BFFFI). The young performers represent the Baguio community which united behind the festival for the last 22 years, he said.

As the festival proper looms, people often hear drum and bugle bands rehearsing the Panagbenga hymn, composed by the late music school dean, Macario Fronda.

Students liven up Baguio Flower Festival opening parade.

“It is always heartwarming when the kids enthusiastically practice [their new choreography for the year’s festival]. As a sign of our gratitude, the BFFFI is granting each participating elementary school an additional P20,000 on top of the P40,000 given by the city government,” Alquiros said.

The band repertoire has changed through the years, but BFFFI has tried to temper the song choices to make the performances “child-friendly,” said Andrew Pinero, the foundation’s spokesperson.

Unlike other festivals, Panagbenga has drawn performers from other provinces since 2011.

Students liven up Baguio Flower Festival opening parade.