Baguio Insider

The day I went down to Manila, two ‘Jims’ biked to my house and invited us to sponsor ‘The Green Ride.’ Thinking I was to be in Manila for only few days, I left the letter back home and said it was the first thing I would attend to upon getting back up to Baguio. Well, two weeks later, am still in Manila!

The first Jim owns a wonderful vegetarian restaurant I am addicted to, Bliss Cafe, while the second Jim is a Muslim imam who (was a butcher by trade, too, as it turns out — attention those who need Halal food!) now teaches at the Philippine Military Academy. For those of you who live in Baguio, I’m sure you know who I’m talking about.

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 The whole country has been waiting with bated breath for the Panagbenga 2008 Schedule of Activities. I have posted the tentative schedule emailed to me by the Panagbenga Secretariat at the Go Baguio! Festivals and Events Page.At the risk of sounding surly, I want to call everyone’s attention to the fact that despite:

• knowing the Panagbenga is held yearly in February,
• the Baguio Flower Festival now is on its 13th run,
• the knowledge that tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of visitors will flock to Baguio for the colorful and exciting activities,
• the opening ceremonies being less than three weeks away

the Panagbenga Schedule of Events is released very late, as it is every year that it is not organized or run by its founder Attorney Damaso Bangaoet. For goodness’s sake, while I appreciate a prompt email response to my request for the Panagbenga 2008 Schedule of Events, why was I sent on January 8 just a TENTATIVE SCHEDULE? (more…)

For all you guys who will be up in Baguio this Christmas Season, good news!

You are all invited to what promises to be a wonderful evening of classical music with Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz, internationally acclaimed Filipino concert piano artist, performing at the Baguio Country Club Ballroom on 28 December 2007. Be captivated by his music… while helping the worthwhile projects of this concert’s beneficiary, WE CARE Services.

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The Baguio Flower Festival (Panagbenga) is now on its 3rd week and we just finished our very popular, ultra colorful, well-attended Parade Weekend: Street Dancing Competition on 24 February and Parade of Floats & Marching Bands on 25 February. The weather cooperated quite nicely and the crowd, though large, was pretty disciplined and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves immensely. Since this is the first time since 1987 that a special holiday was not declared to commemorate the EDSA Revolution that toppled Marcos, many potential visitors had to either cut their trip short or cancel altogether. Still the attendance was pretty large, the traffic a little less than past years, and the mood just as festive.

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