Some thirty four contingents and more or less thirty floats are expected to be the participating entreis to the upcoming conduct of the grand streetdancing parade and grand float parade of the 25th edition of the Pangbenga scheduled on March 28 and 29, 2020, receptively following the announcement by the organizers of the new schedule of the flower festival’s major highlights.
Baguio Flower Festival Foundation, Inc. (BFFFI) Chief of Staff Evangeline Payno said that the 34 streetdancing contingents that will be joining the grand streetdancing parade earlier scheduled on February 29, 2020 bot moved to March 28, 2020 will be composed of 8 elementary contingents, 6 secondary streetdancers, 8 participating contingents to the open category and 14 cultural contingents.
Further, she explained that the 8 elementary contingents that will be joining the grand opening parade earlier scheduled on February 1, 2020 and moved to \March 21, 2020 will automatically be qualified as finalists for the grand streetdancing parade on March 28, 2020 wherein their performance during the opening parade will compose 30 percent of their overall rating.
The BFFFI official clarified that during the opening parade, the performances of the elementary contingents will be purely moving forward which will be complimented by the field performance while their performances during the grand streedancing parade a week later will involve spot performances in designated areas along the parade route from Upper Session road up to the Baguio Athletic Bowl where all the participants will be showcasing their field demonstrations.
She stated that the 14 cultural contingents that will be participating in the grand streetdancing parade will provide added attractions to the residents and visitors who are expected to line up along the parade route to witness the sterling and dynamic performances of the participating streetdancers.
On the other hand, Payno revealed that there will be more or less 30 well decorated floats that will be paraded along major streets in the city up to the Melvin Jones grandstand during the grand float parade on March 29, 2020.
The grand streetdancing parade and the grand float parade are two of the traditional events and major highlights of the annual conduct of the Panagbenga where the rich culture of the Cordillerans are illustrated and depicted by the participating groups.
The BFFFI was organized as the local government’s private partner in the annual conduct of the flower festival considering that the Panagbenga is a government led and community supported event geared towards providing attractions in the city during the lean tourism months.
The flower festival was an offshoot of the previous initiative of the late lawyer Damaso Bangaoet, who was then the vice president of the State-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), in putting up an event that will help boost the growth of the local tourism industry and sustain the influx of visitors in the city. Contributed by Dexter See