Panagbenga Festival 2013 - Schedule of Events

To those going to Baguio for the Panagbenga Festival 2013 (also known as BFF or Baguio Flower Festival 2013), I’m sure you’d want to go there during the celebration’s highlight - the street dancing and the grand float parades which happen on February 23 and 24 respectively.

But if you plan on going up to Baguio for the whole festival, here’s the calendar of events:

February 1, 2013
Grand Opening Parade
Drum and Lyre Dance Competition (Elementary Division)
Panagbenga Park to Athletic Bowl

February 1 – March 3, 2013
Market Encounter & Landscaping Competition
Burnham Park

February 10, 2013
Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom
Melvin Jones

February 10, 2013
Handog ng Panagbenga sa Pamilya Baguio
Burnham Park

February 10, 2013
Fluvial Float Parade
Burnham Lake

February 23, 2013
Grand Street Dancing Parade
Panagbenga Park to Athletic Bowl

February 24, 2013
Grand Float Parade
Panagbenga Park to Athletic Bowl

February 25 – March 3, 2013
Session Road in Bloom
Panagbenga Park to Athletic Bowl

March 4, 2013
Closing Ceremonies
Athletic Bowl

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SM Cebu’s Fireworks Display for Sinulog 2013 (Video)

Check out the fireworks display of SM City Cebu for Sinulog Festival 2013. The background music, Gangnam Style, was a hit among the spectators especially that the fireworks were made to go along the beat of the worldwide hit song by the Korean performer Psy.

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Pahiyas Festival 2012

Pahiyas Festival is celebrated by the people of Lucban, Quezon on the 15th of May every year. It is in honor of their patron saint San Isidro Labrador (St. Isidore the Labourer), who is also the patron saint of all farmers.

Lucban was described as a quiet farming town, and the Pahiyas Fetival started in the 16th century to celebrate a bountiful harvest and to give thanks to their patron saint.

The Lucbanons during the early Spanish times used to give an offering to an anito asking for a good harvest. After harvest season, they would gather their produce in a church and they would eat and drink together. Their belief is that this kind of merry-making would please their gods and in turn bless them with good harvest the following season.

The celebration has evolved overtime and has become the famous festival foreign and local tourists flock to during the summer month of May.

Residents on the designated streets would decorate their houses with agricultural products as well as the famous kiping (leaf-shaped decorations made of rice). Judges would go to each house and the best decorated house wins.

Not all of the houses in Lucban decorate their house during the festival. A certain route is determined and only the houses along the route are obliged to do so. However, some people with houses outside the route choose to adorn their houses out of free will just for fun.

And why the route, you may ask? Because it costs a lot to decorate the houses that it would be so hard (financial wise) for a homeowner to shell a big amount every year.

Most homeowners allow tourists to enter the house, look out the window to have pictures taken with the decorations. Some houses yeterday, however, were closed. An indication that the owner didn’t want any uninvited guests.

Almost all of the houses were grand, but, of course, some were more festive than the others as they try to outshine one another for the coveted title of having the most beautiful decoration this year.

Below are photos of the houses that I found so appealing.

This street was the most-packed yesterday morning, and the house in the foreground was most photographed (also shown third pic from top).

And Jollibee also has a house in Lucban!

Popo was dancing in front of the house, to the delight of kids and kids-at-heart, when we passed by.

This man was having a last-minute touch-up.

St. Louis de Toulouse (Lucban Church), home of San Isidro Labrador, the town’s patron saint.

It was bustling with activity yesterday. So glad I had a more quiet time visiting the place in 2010.

In front of one of the corner houses along the Pahiyas route, a band was playing. I couldn’t actually understand a word in their songs, but they repeat the word “haribon” over and over.

We left a little after having lunch of the town’s famous pancit habhab (because there’s no fork you have to eat it directly from the palm-sized piece of banana leaf) and buco shake. We didn’t wait for the parade anymore cuz Kenneth still wanted to drop by Kamay ni Hesus.

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Panagbenga Festival Schedule of Activities

The 17th Panagbenga Festival is on! Haven't actually been there to witness the festivities but I remember being in Baguio on the way to Mt. Pulag during one of the parades last year and city really bustling with tourists.

Here's the schedule of activities to guide you. You can perhaps reserve accommodations in advance so you won't be sleeping at the bus station (which we are planning to do).

• Panagbenga Opening Parade – February 1, 2012
• Market Encounter – February 1 – March 4, 2012
• Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom – February 11, 2012
• Handog ng Panagbenga sa Baguio – February 12, 2012
• Fluvial Float Parade – February 12, 2012
• Ipitik Festival – February 19 – 26, 2012
• Grand Street Dancing Parade – February 25, 2012
• Grand Float Parade – February 26, 2012
• Session Road in Bloom – February 27 To March 4, 2012
• Pony Boy’s Day – March 2, 2012
• Panagbenga Closing Ceremonies and Grand Fireworks Display – March 4, 2012

I especially want to witness the famous float parade. But that's 2 days before Valentine's. I'm sure it'll be hard to find a travel buddy. My young friends would surely be saving their baon for a date. LoL!

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photo: dpc.ph

Tuna Festival Ads

I found these videos advertising General Santos City's Tuna Festival. I know it's kinda late cuz Tuna Fest ended 4 days ago (August 26 – September 5). I just can't resist posting cuz I had a good laugh watching the videos.

Each vid features something/someone Gen San is famous for, like Shamcey Supsup, Manny Pacquiao, and the tuna itself.

Watch the hilarious vids below.

videos: youtube.com/ralphsody

Pasayahan sa Lucena

I've passed by Lucena a number of times but never really had a chance to roam around the city even once. And when I learned about the city's weeklong celebration of Pasayahan sa Lucena (Chami Festival), I made it a point to visit the city to learn some on what the festival is all about.

Armed with my cellphone's Google Maps application, I left the house at 9:30 AM last Saturday, May 28, 2011. The programme I found on Facebook said the Grand Tricycle Parade would leave the assembly area in Quezon National High School at 1 PM. With further research, I learned that the parade would pass by Merchant Street, turn right towards P. Gomez Street, proceed to Old Manila South Road then head straight to SM Lucena.

It was almost 1:30 PM when I reached the Lucena Grand Central Terminal so I decided to go straight to SM Lucena which was the end-point of the parade. I learned, though, that there's no passenger jeepney that goes straight to SM from the terminal. I had to go to Bayan first then ride another jeepney going to SM. Those were two short rides of minimum fare each. Made me wonder why they wouldn't have jeepneys that will take passengers straight from the terminal to SM.

In Bayan, the jeepney terminal going to SM was near Merchant Street, and the parade wasn't even near Merchant when I got there, which was a good point. I haven't had breakfast nor lunch yet so my plan was to grab a quick meal when I reach SM. I got to the mall a little past 2. I roamed the vicinity and asked around where the parade would be heading. One guard told me it would go directly to the event area at the third floor. Huwat? I thought it was a tricycle parade. The tricycles would go inside the mall? To the third floor?

I went to the third floor and found a small Pasayahan stage ready for GMA 7 stars. Further found out that the celebrities performing there were in the parade itself. And that explained that the tricycles were not really going up the third floor. But oh noes! The guard must have thought I was waiting for the celebrities! But whatever...

I had a fastfood breakfast/lunch/meryenda, and yes, it was my first meal of the day at 2:30 PM. If only I had a host. LoL! But come to think of it, I really wasn't able to sample their famous "chami."  I passed by a karinderia selling chami but my stomach is really sensitive I'm afraid to eat anything I'm not used to when I'm traveling. I'll save chami for next year na lang when I already have a host. LoL!

By 3 PM, I went outside to where the parade would pass by. The sun was oh so shining and it's a good thing I brought with me the bush hat my niece Angel brought in Tutuban for me. Anyway, after waiting for some time, the beautiful tricycle floats arrived.

 

The Tricycle Parade is a contest among Lucena's different barangays. Each one has to make a tricycle float with the theme of whatever it is that their barangay is famous for like farm crops or fishes or boats or whatever. Also included in the parade were winners of different contests held during the weeklong celebration, as well as the personalities that made Lucena proud (e.g. someone who won a national beauty title). But of course the contest remained with the tricycle floats.

It rained hard towards the end of the parade so the GMA 7 celebrities locked themselves up inside their vans, so less chaos. People only got to see Dennis Padilla and someone-I-don't-know for celebrities.

I took video clips using my Kodak Zx1 and put them together by cutting and pasting like that (I'm no good with video editing, sorry). You can watch it below.

I believe the Dalahican float (the boat) won first runner-up and the Market View entry (tilapia) was the champion.

It was a fun Saturday, indeed. Despite the rain and long bus rides, getting the feel of the fiesta atmosphere distinct to festivals like these is an enough reward.

Click here to see my Pasayahan sa Lucena photo album.

Trivia:
Pasayahan sa Lucena started in 1987. It became a big success reason for it to be held yearly. The Chami Festival started in 2006 to feature Lucena's very own native delicacy.

How to get to (SM) Lucena:
- from Alabang, ride a Lucena Grand Central Terminal-bound bus (ordinary fare is P147 as of this writing)
- at the "Grand," get on a jeep headed for Bayan (P8.00) and tell the driver to drop you off at Pretty 99
- walk a few steps to the east towards the jeepney terminal
- ride a jeepney going to SM (P8.00)