More than a year after the city of Baguio was designated as a UNESCO Creative City in October 2017, the Baguio artists community together with the local government is holding the first Baguio Creative Festival from November 10 to 18. The festival, named ENTACool, will be a yearly festival like the famous Panagbenga Flower Festival, which is held every February.
ENTACool 2018: Time For Local Artists And Artisans To Shine
The name “ENTACool” is coined from the Cordilleran term “entaku” which is a call for everyone to come and join and the term “cool,” which signifies Baguio as it is known to many. Taken together, ENTACool means “let us all go and celebrate the cool culture and creativity of Baguio.” The festival is also backed by a city ordinance which states that it will be held every year in the month of November.
The festival highlights the Creative Baguio image through the conduct of exhibitions, demonstrations, and discussions about the different arts and crafts that is famous in Baguio City. Artists and artisans will take center stage during the festival, It will be held in various venues all over the city, such as the Diplomat Hotel, UP Baguio, and other designated creative spaces and hubs.
ENTACool 2018 To Jumpstart Baguio’s Creative Economy
UNESCO’s network of Creative Cities does not only aim to promote creativity but also hopes to enable cities to build creative economies where the creative sector contributes to sustainable economic development. While the festival aims to celebrate, it also wants to promote local arts and crafts so that they can become sustainable enterprises that can benefit both the artists and the local economy.
During a press conference with festival sponsors and organizers, UP Baguio Chancellor Raymundo Rovillos said the series of talks called Talastasan hopes to jumpstart the discussion on how to go about this. They also plan to set up an Innovation Lab where local artists and artisans can get help in research and product design.
Highlights of the weeklong festival include Opening Ceremonies at Diplomat Hotel on Nov. 10, various exhibits also at Diplomat from Nov. 11-18, a Latag Handicrafts Market and Fair in Malcolm Square on Nov. 11-12 and Nov. 14-18, Talastasan Series on Arts and Creativity in UP Baguio from Nov. 10-18, and a week-long film festival at Balanghay ni Ikeng, Ililikha. Various demonstrations and workshops will also be conducted. For more details, visit the Creative Baguio website.