BAGUIO CITY – Event organizers of the various activities lined up for the 23rd edition of the Panagbenga or the Baguio Flower Festival must incorporate creativity in their performances, decorations, among others, to highlight the new tag of the city as one of the Creative Cities in the world.
Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan pointed out local artists will play a key role in the inclusion of creativity in all the flower festival events but suggestions and recommendations from other sectors in the city will also be included in the discussions of experts on how to integrate creativity in the performances of participants, the decorations, among others, and in the criteria for judging of the different events.
The local chief executive said that he will create a committee to take charge of providing the guidelines in the imposition of creativity as one of the integral aspects of citywide events being done in the city.
“We will continue consulting our artists and experts on addressing the issue of creativity. What is important is that we will come out with a common stand on the matter in the implementation of the necessary rules and regulations in the conduct of the various events in the city to sustain the criteria of our being included in the Creative Cities Network,” Domogan stressed.
Freddie Alquiroz, vice-chairperson of the Panagbenga Executive Committee, said local organizers are willing to study, evaluate and assess the recommendations from the concerned sectors on how to incorporate creativity in the conduct of the events to give credence to the city’s newest tag and add color to the lined up activities.
“We would like to listen to the suggestions and recommendations of experts from various sectors so we can appropriately incorporate the needed adjustments to the conduct of the various events that will be lined up for the festival,” Alquiroz stated.
Earlier, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) named Baguio City as one of the 64 new cities in the world included in the coveted list of Creative Cities in the world in terms of crafts and folk arts.
Councilor Elmer O. Datuin, chairman of the Panagbenga Executive Committee, claimed that there are rules and regulations of the Creative Cities Network that the city must adhere to and that it is also required to submit a periodic report on its compliance to the prescribed guidelines, thus, the city’s inclusion in the coveted list is not just for the sake of being part of the creativite cities.
Panagbenga Executive Committee will be chaired by the representative of the local government while the representative of the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc. (BFFFI) will serve as the vice chairman in fulfilment to the long-standing policy of the city that the conduct of the annual flower festival will be a sustainable partnership between the government and the city’s private sector.
By Dexter A. See
