DOT invites public to experience Baguio’s Creative City Festival, Ibagiw 2020
MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Tourism is inviting the public to experience a different side of Baguio City through its ongoing Creative City Festival, Ibagiw 2020.
“We invite everyone to experience a different side of Baguio in the new normal. Ibagiw’s commitment to highlighting the city’s heritage fulfills DOT’s vision to strengthen and push cultural tourism,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.
This year, the third edition of the month-long festival has the theme: “Breathe Inspiration, Breathe in Baguio."
Ibagiw 2020 aims to showcase the city’s vibrant and diverse artistic and cultural heritage, in line with Baguio’s designation as a UNESCO Creative City for Crafts and Folk Art in 2017. Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong last year said he envisions the city to become Southeast Asia's arts capital.
This festival was launched last November 6 at the newly-renovated Baguio Convention Center and was also livestreamed on Facebook. It will run until November 30 in multiple venues in the City of Pines.
The month-long festivities will showcase the city’s heritage and arts, with creative and nature crawls slated every Saturday and Sunday.
Attendees of these tours can explore and rediscover cultural destinations in the city, such as Museo Kordilyera, the Botanical Garden, Ili-Likha Artists’ Wateringhole, Tam-awan Village, BenCab Museum and more.
They can also enjoy other events prepared by the city including artisanal market, crafternoons, a contemporary art exhibition featuring local artists, Art in the Park, the launch of children’s books featuring the artistry of Cordillera weaving, and Anido Artist/Artisans Day.
Aside from these, locals can also join craft competitions as well as other creative activities such as gardening and woodcarving.
Other events and schedules of Ibagiw fest can be found on Baguio Creative City Facebook page and the festival website: ibagiw.baguioartsandcrafts.org
Meanwhile, visitors from all over the country are welcome to join the festivities of Baguio City while following the health protocols. The city reopened its doors to tourists from general community and modified GCQ areas in Luzon last October 22.
Those who plan to visit the city are required to register on the city’s tourist monitoring platform VISITA app. They will be obliged to upload their Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) or the RT-PCR swab confirmatory test results, itinerary, travel authority, and accommodation details.
Upon arrival in Baguio, travelers are likewise asked to go to the triage center, present their online registration on the VISITA app or hdf.baguio.gov.ph, and the mentioned requirements.
Festival chair Maria Venus Tan called the festival “a community celebration of creativity, resiliency and innovation amidst the challenges brought on by the pandemic.”
Magalong, on the other hand, said the staging of the festival reflects the citizens’ resilience amid the health crisis.
“This year, the Ibagiw Festival is all about showing our resilience as we rise together and overcome the challenges of this pandemic. And part of that rising together is demonstrating our support for our creatives, our artists, artisans and craftsmen. Without them, Baguio would not be a UNESCO Creative City,” he was quoted as saying during the launch.
Puyat, for her part, commended the city government of Baguio, Baguio Arts and Crafts Collective, Inc., University of the Philippines Baguio and DOT-Cordillera Administrative Region for the successful launch of the festival.
“DOT supports events like Ibagiw because it helps revive tourism and supports economic recovery. More importantly, it brings back jobs and gives hope to the artisans and craftsmen who help make Baguio’s culture unique. The success of Ibagiw is the success of the city’s lifeblood: its creatives,” the tourism chief said.
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