BAGUIO CITY – Children from various parts of the city adorned their mothers with fresh flower crowns in the Mother and Child Flower Crown Competition held in the Ibagiw Creative Village on May 11.
The event aimed to create a space where mothers and children could bond through creativity on Mother’s Day. It is also part of this year’s month-long Sabsabong Ti Mayo initiative, organized by the Baguio City Tourism Office.
Ten pairs of participants registered for the competition and were given three hours to transform bouquets of flowers into colorful flower crowns. The mother-and-daughter tandem of Regina Roxanne and Ciel Kristine Caoli won the championship title and received a ₱7,500 cash prize. Mary Grace Glorydelle Zapanta and her daughter Althea Shira Hikari took first runner-up with a ₱5,000 cash prize while Melody Gomeng-ad and her daughter Gerdy Yannis claimed second runner-up and took home ₱3,000.
The event garnered positive remarks from both the organizers and participants. Rachelle Ann Montoya, Tourism Operations Officer, praised the success of the activity, noting how the children’s flower crown descriptions exceeded expectations.
“Nakakatuwa po kasi ang alam po namin, yung description dapat is description ng kung anong flower po ginamit but it was more of message nila sa mom nila, so I think we were able to achieve our goal which is to come up with an activity na the mother and the child could actually bond,” she said. “Hindi po siya as in skills competition. It’s more of a community event that anyone interested can join.”
Cris, a participant, shared the challenges he faced. “My first challenge was not practicing. Hindi nag-practice, diretso agad. And second challenge is yung pagte-tape ng flowers together. Mahirap, kaya kailangan ng help [from] another person.” Still, he expressed joy in his creation. “It’s for my mother. Ginawan ko yung mother ko. She’s happy. I’m happy. We’re both happy.”
Seventeen-year-old participant Gerdy also stated that making a flower crown for her mother is a way of reciprocating her love and care. “Sometimes, I can’t say ‘I love you’ straight to her. So by doing things like chores or making her gifts, that’s how I say I love her — in a creative way.” Gerdy pertains to the flower crown among other outputs she has produced in previous creative ventures.
These statements were reflected by her mother, Melody, “Ngayon nila lang nasasabi, kapag may ginagawa sila, na ganon pala kalalim ang nabibigay ng isang ina sa kanila,” she said
Despite the lack of words, the children’s creativity spoke volumes. Hence, the inaugural Mother and Child Flower Crown Competition proved to be more than a contest. It was a heartfelt celebration of love and gratitude. By Aiyra Marzan
