The Department of Tourism vowed to continue promoting Baguio City as it cited that initiatives such as the Ibagiw Festival will sustain the treasured traditions and art forms of the Summer Capital of the Philippines.
Ibagiw is a month-long creative festival that showcases the city's rich and vibrant culture and history.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat went to Baguio over the weekend to see the event highlights such as its lineup of creative crawls and series of tours that showcase the city’s artistic and cultural heritage sites.
She said the DoT will continue to promote Baguio as a creative city and support its development for arts and culture.
“Baguio is more than just its natural wonders, and we want more Filipinos to rediscover what UNESCO designated as a Creative City for Crafts and Folk Arts. Initiatives like Ibagiw will certainly help revive tourism in the region and jumpstart the local economy,” she said.
"Experiencing the Ibagiw 2020 Festival ensures the bright future of Baguio’s creative economy while keeping its traditions and art forms alive.”
Puyat began the tour at the newly refurbished Baguio Convention Center with an ongoing exhibit called “Interlinked.” She personally met National Artist Kidlat Tahimik who created pieces that explore themes of “community, collective memory, personal and cultural identity, environmental activism, social commentary, contemporary society, humor, and local color" together with local artists.
She also visited the Art in the Park at Sunshine Park to witness different activities such as spot painting by local visual artists, craft demonstrations by local artisans such as textile-weaving and wood-carving, and a photo exhibit of native plants in the Philippines.