Baguio Panagbenga Festival 2010: Grand Float Parade

On its fifteenth year of staging colorful festivals, Baguio Panagbenga Festival, patterned after the New Years Day Rose Parade in Pasadena, is a festival of flower-covered floats and marching bands showcasing the colorful flowers of the Cordilleras.

Panagbenga Festival 2010 Photos (taken on Session Road cor. Perfecto St):

the colorful float of Baguio City local government
SM's giant tiger float highlighting the year of the Metal Tiger

Samsung audio-video themed float
Megalopolis, perhaps a property developer

Coca Cola float with their commercial models

Panagbenga 2010 Stargazing:

Various showbiz personalities hied off to Baguio to ride on the flower-bedecked floats like Valerie Concepcion, Karylle, Pauleen Luna et al (it so happens Tutubi is not fond of showbiz that's why he can't identify the stars he saw that day)

GMA 7 Kapuso Stars with Camelot-themed float.

GMA Kapuso stars (Pocholo?). No float from rival ABS-CBN that day
Pauleen Luna on the San Miguel beer float

All in all, there were 24 floats showcased for Panagbenga 2010 (Tutubi can't remember how many were there in 2003, the first time he witnessed the event).

The float parade started at around 8:20am and finished shortly before 10am.

Tutubi's tip: try to be along the Panagbenga Festival parade route as early as 6am to get a "front row" seat on Session Road and other streets along the way. There are temporary stages/benches where you can seat but those get reserved very early. There really are too many people seeing the festival up close. If only festival organizers can lengthen the parade route to allow spectators to spread out instead of concentration on jam-packed Session Road (na di mahulugan ng karayom). If you're a photographer, try to secure special passes so you can walk in the middle of the road and get the best vantage points, instead of just trying your luck on the sidewalk.

Lastly, book your bus trips and Baguio accommodations early particularly those near the Panagbenga parade route (maps available online if you want) so that you can easily walk or view the parade outside your hotel window.

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Tutubi has seen Panagbenga in an unplanned trip in 2003, this time however is not much different except he got free accommodations from an officemate and early bus tickets from Victory Liner.

Personally, Tutubi prefers the "audience participation" style of Ati-atihan festival (Kalibo, Aklan), the authentic father of all Philippine festivals. It seems Panagbenga festival is only about the flowers and showcasing less and less of genuine culture of the Cordilleras making the festival less authentic. When Tutubi was there in 2003 it was Ricky Martin's "Living La Vida Loca" played by the marching band instead of authentic music of the Cordillera people. The 2010 edition featured knights, princes and princesses that's so un-Cordillera, not even Filipino-- no wonder Philippine tourism is not that well-known due to misplaced preferences.

The commendation goes for the festival organizers for not allowing slimy politicians to parade their own floats though. (there were the Bongbong Marcos, and Gilbert Remulla, Manny Villar et al)