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Panagbenga 2018: Pinoy Celebs To Expect This Year And A Look Back On Last Year’s Festival

Jericho Rosales, Panagbenga 2017

Panagbenga 2018 is one to look out for! Last year, Jeyrick Sigmaton a.k.a. Carrot Man came home to Baguio after being an internet sensation. AlDub Maine Mendoza and Alden Richard made sure that Baguio feels their love. Bea Alonzo tags Enchong Dee with her on a float. Miss International 2016 Kylie Versoza proved she was worthy of the title queen. Jericho Rosales was in awe of Baguio and started shooting photos for himself. Asi Taulava, a basketball player, was also there. Not on a float, but on the road. He was shaking hands with people he sees along Session Road. Who are we expecting this year?

A lot of people were in the same place at once. You can’t help but squeeze yourself through arms and legs. But the satisfaction you would get if you get a perfect photo is priceless. It is fulfilling to know that you already have a photo that would work best for an article that you would write. A story worth telling is a story you got from hard work. I didn’t know anyone from the crowd but I manned-up and asked questions from strangers. I found out how a lot of different people were in the same place celebrating one festival.

In this year’s Panagbenga, the theme centers on the “Celebration of Culture and Creativity.” The city was recently called a “creative city” by UNESCO. This promotes the City of Baguio to push its limits more and prove that we are worthy of the title. This year, most of the events focus more on the maximization of the arts. Baguio has a lot of local artists and this year, everyone will get their shot at the spotlight. Recent events were exhibits in Malcolm Square and Melvin Jones Grandstand. The City Government of Baguio still has a lot of plans in store for the locals and tourists as well.

Panagbenga 2018 among the ‘stars’ again?

For the artists attending, there are rumors that the cast of Probinsyano will be here again. That includes Coco Martin and his cast. Bagani stars Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil might be present at the events as well. “Sana Dalawa Ang Puso” lead Jodi Sta. Maria, Richard Yap, and Robin Padilla may surprise their Northern fans as well. “The Good Son” star Joshua Garcia is also expected to be here during the weekend. Although these are all rumors as of the moment, what could go wrong for expecting something?

Panagbenga 2017: ‘Inspired by Beauty, Nurtured by Nature.’

Growing up from the lowlands would mean not experiencing Panagbenga first-hand. What saves me is the television we have at home; televising the famous flower festival. A few years later, becoming a Baguio local is the most fulfilling feeling ever.

It’s Sunday morning and the need to stand up from the bed is urgent. There are things that you don’t do but have to do. This is one of those things; waking up to mornings. It’s still dark outside. No light has seeped through the curtains that could only contain minimal brightness. There was stretching and doing things that may cause veins to transport blood in the whole body. Today is Panagbenga. It’s a weekend that happens only once a year.

Dragging myself to cover a local event was the hardest thing I did to myself. I’m only doing this to secure a news article for school which is due next week. They say that when you become a local, you would start to think like a local. That means attending Panagbenga would be a tourist thing. Locals would only watch it on television. There isn’t a festival that attracts locals out of their homes to merge with a sea of people in the streets.
 
Wearing running shoes and a hooded jacket, I knew I was up for a long day. This is not one of those days that I would attend office meetings or cover rallies. This is one of those days where both my mind and body get bruised from everything that’s happening around me. There are no jeepneys at four in the morning. There were only lights and empty streets. Walking to Session Road was a fun but tiring thing to do. You get to observe the city you fell in love with. Memories unravel to every street you pass. These are good memories. The kind of memories you collect during the late nights of going home. It is dark but still, the streets felt like home and safety.

Panagbenga’s Grand Float Parade is one of Baguio’s highlight events. In here, trucks dressed in flowers parade down Session Road. You can see an artist’s vision of how the theme gets played on the floats. It’s magical, to say the least. Sometimes, it’s more than flowers and themes on floats. If you’re lucky enough, Philippines’ most sought-after artists are on floats too.

Last year was my first-hand experience of Panagbenga. It doesn’t justify experiencing it through the comfort of your home. But it does evoke the beauty of trying new things to learn. I come home, rest for a bit, then continue writing an article. Experiencing Panagbenga for the first time was the hardest thing I did. But it was all worth it.
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Categories: Baguio Features
Christian Apostol: He thought that he would stop writing when he entered college. He was wrong. Although he took up Architecture in the first year, his heart navigated its way back to what he does best. Now he's a Communication student and a full-time random notebook-scribbler.