Images by JJ Landingin and the author

On the way to the City of Pines, an exciting aura was in the air. Already, the monthlong celebration of Baguio City’s Panagbenga Festival, following the theme “Celebrating Traditions, Embracing Innovations,” was nearing its end. We had made the trip just in time for its two largest events, the street dance competition and the grand float parade. The first event has several students from different schools nationwide showcasing their dancing prowess. In contrast, the latter draws the largest crowd, as folks line up to see the line of colorful flower floats make its way down Session Road. Both are a spectacle to behold.

For the street dance competition, it was a time for the youth to shine. A line of girl scouts holding a floral sign for Panagbenga 2024 took up the front row. They were followed shortly after by the Philippine Military Academy and its marching band playing up the crowd with their catchy tunes and dance moves. St. Louis University’s marching band was also there to keep spirits up. Several sister cities worldwide, from Taebaek, Yeonsu-Gu, and GongJu in the Republic of Korea to those hailing from US states like Texas and Hawaii, also joined in the fun. Those hailing from Korea were eager to share their culture by singing traditional songs and pumping up the crowd with a drum performance.

Of course, the highlight of Saturday’s events was the six groups vying for the top prize in the drum and lyre dance category and seven under the festival dance category. These students had come from provinces as far as Bicol to compete and give it their all. Every group delivered an electrifying performance. Clad in colorful costumes made from recyclable materials, all excited onlookers as they showed off their remarkable talents. It was amazing to see just how much energy these young performers had, having to strike up several routines as they made their way down Session Road to Burnham Park for the final performance.

In the end, Lucban Elementary School won first place in the drum and lyre category, taking home ₱150,000 in prize money while the students of Tribu Rizal of Kalinga took the top spot for the festival dance category, collecting a ₱200,000 cash prize.

On Sunday, excitement toward the festival doubled as people looked forward to the much-awaited grand float parade. To show just how excited folks were for the occasion, many even set up camp the night before to secure their spots in catching the parade. From the Baguio City Police Office’s official count, an estimated 32,000 spectators were present that day. It’s no surprise that such an event drew a crowd due to the spectacular floats designed for the parade. The floats were split into three categories, based on the size of each one (small, medium, and large). There were a total of 33 floats present during the parade. As the floats started to make their way down Session Road and pass through Harrison Road, the cheers from the crowd showed how everyone was in high spirits. All admired the alluring sight of the flowers adorning each float, if not the celebrities riding on them. Notable figures present during the parade were Benjie Paras and his son Andre aboard the Palawan Express float, Senator Lito Lapid and his son Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority COO Mark Lapid on the TIEZA float, Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. joining the cast of GMA 7’s Walang Matigas na Pulis sa Matinik na Misis, Lovi Poe and Boss Toyo of Pinoy Pawnstar fame on the SCD Skin Care float, and former Sen. Kiko Pangilinan joining other Baguio City officials.

Solid North Pangasinan took the coveted large float parade prize, followed by Jollibee and TIEZA. For the medium category, Chowking reigned victorious while P&G/Youthopia ranked second and KFC placed third. For the small float category, Zaparita’s Garden took the top prize.

Perhaps one of the more impressive feats of the event was just how organized it all was. As soon as the parade was finished, Session Road and Harrison Road carried on like usual. It was almost as if the parade didn’t take place. A team of street sweepers and cleaners at the end of the parade had done their job well, picking up after anything left behind. But with the due diligence of Baguio City’s residents, there wasn’t much of a mess to clean up to begin with. The organization of it all showed just how much care the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation, Inc. (BFFFI) put into making sure everything was flawless. After the success of this year’s festival, next year Panagbenga will certainly level up.