NATIVE dancers perform at the fourth Cordillera Festival of Festivals led by the Department of Tourism
in Baguio City on Friday, Oct. 24. (Zaldy Comanda)
BAGUIO CITY – Popular festivals in the Cordillera region were featured in a street dance parade that kicked off this year’s Cordillera Festival of Festivals on Friday, Oct. 24.
Now on its fourth year, the five-day event is an annual program of the Department of Tourism-Cordillera.
The street dance parade started at Melvin Jones Grandstand and ended at the main performance area at the Session Road Rotonda.
Performers were Baguio City's Panagbenga Festival; the Adivay Festival of Benguet; the Say-am Naya Apayao, featuring Rambak ni Mannalon of Luna, of the province of Apayao; the Matagoan Festival of Tabuk City, Kalinga province; the Gotad Ad Ifugao, the Kawayan Festival of Abra, and the Lang-ay Festival, featuring Begnas Di Bauko, a sacred rite of harmony and harvest of Mountain Province.
DOT-Cordillera Regional Director Jovita Ganongan said the FOF is a grand showcase of the region’s premier and iconic festival highlights, offering a glimpse of the vibrant celebrations that await visitors. It fosters regional pride and sparks greater interest in discovering the beauty and identity of the Cordilleras.
Also being held is a five-day exhibit featuring diverse crafts, products, and traditions of the region from Oct. 22 to 26 at Malcolm Square here.
FOF also serves as an annual commemoration of Indigenous Peoples' Month under Proclamation No. 1906, Series of 2009, honoring the signing of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act in 1997.