‘Creative’ Panagbenga Festival unfolds today
BAGUIO CITY — The 2018 Panagbenga Festival comes off the wraps today with the drum and lyre and street dancing competitions among the city’s elementary schools and barangays.
To give way to the opening of the month-long festival, Mayor Mauricio Domogan has issued Administrative Order (AO) No. 10, series of 2018 suspending elementary and high school classes.
Today’s top performers will advance to grand street dancing parade on February 24.
Adopting the theme “Celebration of Culture and Creativity”, the city government and the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation, Inc., are aiming to showcase the top-notch performances and festivities consistent with the UNESCO’s declaration of Baguio City’s as a “crerative city”.
Ten elementary school drum and lyre groups in the city and one from Benguet province will be in their most creative costumes and will give their best performances which will start at 8:00 a.m. along Session RoadMagsaysay-Harrison Road going to Athletic Bowl.
Teams from the city’s barangay’s will compete in the street dancing contest.
“This is the first time that there will be a contingent from the barangays. It was agreed by the 128 barangays to just get a contingent from each district so that they will not be too many,” Association of Barangay Council President and Councilor Michael Lawana said.
District 20 will be a combination of performers from barangays Holyghost Extension, Holyghost Proper, Honeymoon-Holyghost, Imelda Village and Manuel Roxas.
For District 19, the performers will come from Barangays Aurora Hill Proper, Brookside, Brookspoint, East Modernsite, Lopez Jaena and West Modernsite.
District 13 will be represented by dancers from Barangays Camp 7,Camp 8, Military Cut-off, Poliwes and San Vicente, while District 8 will be represented by Barangays Camdas Subdivision, Dizon Subdivision, East Quirino Hill, Happy Homes-Old Lucban, Lower Quirino Hill, Pinget and West Quirino Hill.
Lawana said all the performers are barangay officials and there will be senior citizens who will add to the fun and enjoyment of the competition.
The participating schools for the drum and lyre and street dancing competiton are Apolinario Mabini Elementary School, Baguio Central School, Dominican – Mirador Elementary School, Don Mariano Elementary School, Emilio Aguinaldo Elementary School, Jose P. Laurel Elementary School, Josefa Carino Elementary School, Lucban Elementary School, Pinget Elementary School, Manuel L. Quezon Elementary School and Camp 6 Elementary School, Tuba,Benguet.
Councilor Elmer Datuin, executive co-chairman of Panagbenga 2018, said presidential spokeman Harry Roque will be the guest speaker before the start of the showdown at the Athletic Bowl.
The grand cultural street dancing show will unfold on February 25 followed by the flower floats parade the following day.
Senior Supt. Ramil Saculles, Baguio City police chief, assured that safety and security measures are now in place.
More than 500 police officers, aside from village watchmen and civilian volunteers will be deployed along parade routes.