6 of the Most Iconic Panagbenga Festival Events and Activities

The Baguio Blooms Exposition and Exhibition is a vibrant trade fair which highlights local ingenuity and caters to flower exhibitors and merchants. With hundreds of presenters, it used to draw crowds who marvel at the plants and items on display.

The virtue of the Panagbenga Festival is the unity of its community, and a huge part of what binds them as one is the families. That’s why at Handog ng Panagbenga sa Pamilya Baguio, family comes first. The event lets families enjoy various activities like an open kite-flying competition, recycled crafts competition, and a cultural variety show held by different colleges and universities. As is the custom, there will also be an open painting exhibition with the theme “Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom.”

The day-long family affair is capped off with a grand fireworks display, a pyrotechnic spectacle for the whole family to enjoy. So come one, come all! Join the children in creating childhood memories, and revisit your own in this year’s offering for the Pamilya Baguio!

After a suite of activities, the celebration at the grandstand closes with the traditional Concert at the Park, a gathering of the region’s top artists for a night of great music and greater company with family, friends, and even your beloved pets!

What defines Panagbenga Festival are the parades, which is why locals and tourists never missed out on the annual highlight: the Grand Street Dancing Parade and the Grand Float Parade. For the Grand Street Dancing Parade, various troupes from the elementary, high school, and open category division captivate the crowd with steps to different Cordilleran choreography and rhythm. Meanwhile, a different showcase of creativity and color happens at the Grand Float Parade as floats bedecked with beautiful flowers and stunning decorations roll through Baguio’s major avenues.

This year, however, both events will not be held to avoid mass gatherings.

For one week, Session Road in Baguio exchanges traffic for throngs of tourists in its own unique and cheerful celebration of Panagbenga Festival. The Session Road in Bloom is a week-long fair that features the region’s and the country’s top food and service concessionaires bringing their best craft and cuisines to Baguio’s major thoroughfare. Tens of thousands of attendees get the opportunity to enjoy rows upon rows of grub and goods and to listen to some of the top acts through open-air concerts and performances each day.

Much of what keeps Baguio’s tourism alive and literally kicking are the different horses that tourists ride, keep company, and take pictures with. Thus, Panagbenga Festival pays homage to the gentle horses with their very own day of celebration: the Pony Boy’s Day. During the event, horses and their ranchers from different horse clubs within and beyond Baguio gather for a day of exhibition and interactive activities with tourists. Through horse race competitions, horse pageants, and parlor games, tourists and riders alike celebrate the festival with the city’s beloved creatures.

While the festival will be different this year, the spirit, resilience, and zest for life that the Panagbenga celebrates undoubtedly remains!