The Panagbenga Festival (Flower Festival) is here once again! Pack your bags and bring your friends or family to this once-a-year event in Baguio City. Here is the Panagbenga Festival 2008 schedule of activities:

• February 1, 2008: Grand Opening, Drum and Iyre and street dancing, Opening and Blessing of Market Encounter
• February 22-24, 2008: Abanao Nights
• February 23, 2008: Grand Opening Parade (composed of schools)
• February 24, 2008: Parade of floats and bands
• February 24-March 2, 2008: Session Road in bloom
• March 2: Closing Ceremonies with Playground demonstrations and exhibitions

What are you waiting for? Book now at the cheapest, most accomodating Baguio hotels! Microtel Inn and Suites Baguio, El Cielito Inn Baguio, and Burnham Hotel

Baguio City Tour (3 hours)

For the Baguio newbie, the Baguio City Tour is absolutely necessary to be oriented with the Summer Capital’s trademark sights and landmarks. For three hours, an experienced guide will accompany you as you discover the heart and soul of Baguio. Enjoy these scenic spots with friends and family alike: Lourdes Grotto, Ibay’s Silver Craft, Mines View Park, Burnham Park, The Mansion, Baguio-Mountain Province Museum (w/ entrance fee of P40/person) and the City Market Walking Tour.

Mother Nature Tour (3-1/2 hours)

Quite weary from the hustle and bustle of city life? The Mother Nature tour offered by El Cielito Inn-Baguio is the perfect escape for the urban dweller seeking alternatives to the usual sights in the metropolis. Pick strawberries from the Strawberry Farm and feast on your harvest afterwards. Marvel at the exquisite diversity of flora in the Baguio Orchidarium and bring home some local plant varieties and flower species for sale. Visit the famous Easter Weaving factory, wherein you can see for yourself the age-old process of cloth weaving. Then, bring a piece of Baguio craftsmanship home as souvenir. Want to experience how the natives of Baguio lived before? Then, you’ll enjoy a stop at the Tam-Awan Village. For a small fee of P20 per person, you’ll see actual Igorot huts, traverse steep pathways and get a feel of how the natives lived. Lastly, be fascinated with the world’s heaviest and largest bird, the ostrich, in the Ostrich Farm. For an entrance fee of only P20 per person, get to see these majestic birds in action. El Cielito-Inn Baguio makes sure you get the most of what Baguio has to offer. Make a reservation now and experience Mother Nature’s abundance.

Master’s Garden (3 hours)

El Cielito Inn-Baguio highly recommends this very educational tour, which acquaints you with the basics of organic farming. Baguio City is known for its markets, which peddle the freshest fruits and vegetables grown from Baguio soil. Just 20 minutes from El Cielito Inn-Baguio, the Master’s Garden is perfect for individuals who believe that there are better alternatives to traditional farming practices and would want to discover more about it. The Master’s Garden tour already includes lunch for its participants. A one day notice is needed prior to availing the tour.

You may make a reservation online at http://www.elcielito-baguio.com/ or click here.

The Panagbenga Festival climaxes this weekend.

Every February Baguio City celebrates the Panagbenga Festival which is also called the “Baguio Flower Festival“. It is the time of the year when the city of Baguio is adorned with fragrant flowers, and the time when parades, flower floats, and residents dressed in flower-costumes swarm the streets for two days.

The Panagbenga Festival began in 1995 after the sectors of society decided to come up with something to commemorate the beautiful flowers Baguio City is known for and to celebrate the city’s restoration from the devastating earthquake that transpired in 1990. Hence, the Baguio Flower Festival was brought into existence.

Just as the residents of Baguio get busy during the Flower Festival so do the market places. Commercial establishments in Baguio take advantage of the huge crowd drawn by the event, especially on the final weekend of the festival when the number of people is at its peak.

This is also a time when the hotel accommodations in Baguio are most occupied. Before and during the event, hotels are usually packed with guests so it’s better (and wiser) to book your reservations in advance. To avoid hassles when booking for hotel rooms, reservations in Microtel Inn and Suites Baguio, El Cielito Inn Baguio, and Burnham Hotel can be done online. What’s great with booking online is you can have your reservations confirmed a lot faster. And you don’t have to worry about where to stay once you arrive in Baguio City.

There are more events in the Panagbenga Festival than just the flower float parades. Some of these are the skateboard competition, exhibits, concerts, battle of the bands, and the search for Mr. and Ms. Baguio Flower Festival.

You’re also probably thinking about where you, as a spectator, should be stationed in order for you not to miss any of the flower float parades. Standing in Session Road or in Burnham Park will give you an awesome view.

Schedule of activities for this weekend:
Feb 24: Street Dancing Parade and Fireworks Display
Feb 25: Flower Float Parades and Marching Bands

Don’t miss the Panagbenga Festival 2007 this weekend!

[tags]panagbenga, flower festival, baguio, baguio hotels, hotel in baguio, baguio city[/tags]