BAGUIO CITY – Organizers, landscapers and exhibitors of the ongoing Baguio Blooms Exposition and Exhibition at the Baguio Convention Center grounds called on residents and visitors to patronize the flowers, plants and handicrafts displayed in the area so they can recover their investments in one of the major highlights of the 25th edition of the Panagbenga, otherwise known as the Baguio Flower Festival.
Baguio Flower Festival Foundation, Inc. (BFFFI) Chief of Staff Evangeline Payno said of the existing 49 exhibitors that opted to continue their participation in the Baguio Blooms Exposition and Exhibition, 17 stalls have been allotted for participating landscapers where various plants and flowers aside from their world-class floral arrangements are on display for the public to patronize.
With the approved extension of the Baguio Blooms from the supposed March 8, 2020 commencement to April 15, 2020, landscapers and exhibitors are keeping their fingers crossed they will be able to recover from the slump with the expected increase in foot traffic in the area the coming weeks as the Corona virus Disease (COVID) 2019 scare is now waning.
The Baguio Blooms Exposition and Exhibition is one of the income-generating activities of the annual Panagbenga where the rentals of the exhibitors is used to provide the funds for the cash prizes of major events and subsidies to the participants of the landscaping, streetdancing among other competitions.
Payno claims the foundation will continue to aggressively promote the Baguio Blooms through various forms to help increase foot traffic in the area for the people to patronize the quality products being sold there.
Further, the city government will also help promote the Baguio Blooms by allowing the use of the Baguio Convention Center starting March 9, 2020 as there are numerous government agencies and private organizations interested in suing the facility for their activities.
Aside from the Baguio Blooms being done in the Baguio Convention Center grounds for the first time, the COVID 2019 scare forced the postponement of the major highlights of the Panagbenga from their original schedules to the later part of March greatly affected the influx of people to the exhibit area compelling some of the exhibitors to withdraw their participation.
Organizers are still optimistic some of those exhibitors who withdrew their will still reconsider their earlier decision as the grant of the extension of the event for another month can help them recover their investments in joining the exhibition.
Originally, the BFFFI projected to have some 300 participating exhibitors and landscapers in this major Panagbenga event but only 80 pushed through while 18 withdrew their participation in the initial staging of the exhibition because of poor foot traffic in the area.
Later, another 13 withdrew from the exhibition that reduced the total number of participants to the Baguio Blooms to only 49 to date.
By Dexter A. See
Photo by Rosalia T. See
