Ibagiw, Baguio’s foremost creative event, is back amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mayor Benjamin A. Magalong in an executive order declared November as Ibagiw Creative City Festival Month, as part of Baguio’s efforts to resume community events.
In Executive Order 152 issued on Oct. 19 Magalong called on public support for the activities lined up by the festival organizers, namely the Council for Baguio Creative City and its lead partner, the Baguio Arts and Crafts Collectives, Inc.
“This year’s festival celebrates the resiliency of Baguio citizens, most especially its artists and artisans. We want to show everyone that Baguio has risen well enough to resume economic-inducing activities, for our stricken sectors to get back jobs, retrieve livelihoods, and bring businesses to heightened normalcy. Times may remain dire, but we need to showcase healing in harmony with one another,” Magalong said.
Festival Director Maria Venus Q. Tan, welcomed Magalong’s green-lighting the city’s annual creative festival which has drawn public recognition since 2017, when the United Nations made Baguio a member of the Unesco Creative Cities Network for Crafts and Folk Arts.
“With the active support of the city government, we can bring together this community celebration of creativity at its finest, auspicious at a time when we need to see renewed hopes for a better future,” said Tan, former Tourism regional head for the Cordillera.
The Ibagiw 2020 Creative City Festival will run from Nov. 6 to 30, under strictly regulated health and safety protocols as primordial guide for the staging of several carefully curated events and activities.
Artists, artisans, creative and tourism workers direly affected by the pandemic will take part in the various events to showcase their finest works either for virtual viewing or for contests.
The Contemporary Arts Exhibit and Art in the Park will present Baguio’s visual artists and their masterpieces. Artisans and crafters share their innovative crafts and products during the Crafts Competition and Mandeko Kito: An Artisans’ Fair.
The Woodcarving Competition shows off the most creative woodcarvers and their handiworks. Weaving, another Cordilleran cultural heritage, takes its own stellar attraction through the launch of Children’s Storybooks on Weaving.
Carefully chosen and organized with the new normal in mind, there are also Creative and Garden Crawls that the public, in limited in-person gatherings, can participate in, to rediscover the Baguio they know and love. Festival organizers have assured city folks and visitors alike that all activities and events will abide and follow the mandated health and safety protocols set by the local government.
Details about the festival can be found in the Baguio Creative City Facebook page and at ibagiw.baguioartsandcrafts.org. – Press release
