"The [Panagbenga Festival] has contributed to the tourism industry of our city," says Baguio City mayor Mauricio Domogan. "You will note that there were more people who attended [the float parade] than the [street dance parade.] You can just imagine if all these people eat at many of the restaurants and buy souvenirs - that's already a big contribution to the local economy. If we did not have the Panagbenga, I do not think we could draw [such large numbers] of people to come here."

But more than just a major draw for tourists, Panagbenga also celebrates the culture and traditions of the indigenous peoples of the Cordillera Region. For them, it is a time to take pride in local crafts and customs, as seen in events such as the Ili ay Cordillera cultural village at Camp John Hay which captures elements of local village life. Native costumes are visible everywhere in Baguio and even those not brave enough to wear the traditional bahag [men's loincloth] or tapis [women's fabric wrap skirt] are seen sporting outfits made with locally woven fabric in customary colours.Artists' collectives host gallery openings or participate in group exhibitions and public performances. Schoolchildren and civic groups actively rehearse their routines and come up with magnificent costumes inspired by flowers, characters out of native legend, or even modern pop culture.

Blooming Forward, the theme for this year's festival, says a lot about the people of Baguio. They are a proud and noble people who have risen to the challenge of rebuilding a city that many people - from both here and abroad - had given up as lost given the magnitude of the destruction that happened to it. They are a people who are proud of their culture and are doing everything that they can in order to preserve it and to promote it to a new generation. But they are also people who believe in using community power to get a point across.

While many of the floats are now produced by corporate entities and commercial establishments, they still play up the use of endemic flora or, at the very least, locally grown blooms in their presentations. There have been politicians and celebrities who have come to steal the festival's thunder, but it's still the beauty of the flowers and the enthusiasm of the dancers that linger in the minds of visitors long after the excitement has died down. And now, as it prepares to celebrate its 25th year, the Panagbenga Festival continues to stand as a living embodiment of the people of the Cordilleras: proud, noble, creative, and resilient.