Hi Randall, sorry to reply so late — i missed the comment you made on this topic last June 2008 (must not have been on Panagbenga mode then). I think your observations are wonderful and I will focus on these in a post coming up. Thanks!

Um, Icewolf,

Are you asking ME to do research and analysis for you?

If YOU are doing the researching, what information are you asking from me specifically? Don’t you think that this particular research should involve contacting the organizers for statistics? Or doing case studies? Instead of asking a blogger for her opinion (which you know of course, will entail a lot research on MY part for a topic that YOU have to write about)

Have been witness each parade since and have noted the apparent lack of pre-planning. Must be very difficult for people to arrange time away from work, a motel or other shelter around a schedule not carved out until a couple weeks prior to the event.

I now reside in Baguio and usually learn about events after they have occurred. Digging for information on the web for upcoming events, be it the Strawberry Festival, Panagbenga or the myriad of happenings in and around Baguio, is a mind boggling array of events that have come & gone. In effect, a waste of time & effort.

Commercialism is a necessary evil for the planners and participants, to some degree. Yet, that said, should Panagbenga have become the Smart – Globe – Jollibee Festival? Not knocking the international participants, not a bit. They have long been a part of the Cordillera experience and especially the Baguio experience.

For the local businesses to tout their wares, as witnessed by the landscaper’s exhibits during Panagbenga ‘07 Camp John Hay seems (to me)to be an appropriate and beautiful addition to the whole. Conversely, thousands upon thousands of Smart / Globe banners lends only a tawdry and glitzy feel that is, in my humble opinion, shameful. This only serves as a detraction from an unusual and wondrous concept / experience.

The past two years, my initial and final reaction to the over-all experience of Panagbenga was akin to a martial arts exhibit at SM.

Maingay at pangit na pangit.

Cordillera folk, exhibits and wares need to be, should be and *could* be, the focus of this celebration. It would seem very few people would make the trek from Manila or Cebu to attend a Smart Telecom (et al) festival!

From an Ameri-Pinoy’s unsolicited perspective, Pangbenga should incorporate some, if not all, of the following ideas:

1 – Plan it in advance.
(far enough that visitors have time to adjust schedules)

2 – Make event schedules available, by all means.
(BIG event, national media coverage would occur. Free!)

3 – Limit the ‘big three’ corporation’s banner ads.
(contribute, sell product. Dignity, not domination)

4 – Suffer the street vendor’s participation.
(they contribute a true Pinoy ambiance, masarap din)

5 – Replace the ‘candy toss’ with a flower toss.
(isn’t this a flower festival?)

6 – Require float signage be accomplished in the design.
(Again, flower festival, not billboard festival)

7 – Provide a midway break (or two) for the paraders!
(that’s a long enough walk, *you* try it dancing!)

8 – Ukay-ukay pa !
(after hours, of course, many LOVE that, duh !?!)

9 – Provide parking & transport for POV owners.
(CJH has the facilities… nominal fee… joy)

10- Keep the experience 100% Cordillera!
(international is good and very much appropriate)

Thanks for listening to my rant.

Sana the planners read & heed this blog ! Perhaps some enterprising soul that knows the ‘ins and outs’ of Baguio politics would be so moved as to see that the information ends up on the right desk?

As soon as the Panagbenga Secretariat release schedules, they will be published at http://www.gobaguio.com.

Hope this helps.

heard a lot about flower festival, I plan to be there next year (2009). Can I know the date in 2009 for the Grand Parade in Baguio.

Thanks

I will be back in Baguio tomorrow. But maybe we can meet up on Monday or Tuesday next week instead, after the parades? Will email you

Some organizers are even adamant: Why should I render an accounting? This is all MY work! But the city would have given the use of the land for free, the garbage collection, the police for free. For the parades, the citizens spend so much, rehearse so much to participate!

The problem is the institution of the Panagbenga as it has ‘evolved.’ We must take a step back and assess “What are we doing this for?” and hopefully come up with the answer that we are doing this for Baguio and not for ourselves.

I can imagine how disillusioned volunteers can become…

We can still turn things around.