An Addiction to Remember...

Courtesy of: ibaguio

Baguio Flower Festival (Panagbenga) 2009 launched

The Baguio Flower Festival ‘Panagbenga’ 2009 shall be a “big event, and to be done on a grand scale,” as to participation, activities and audience, as promised by Baguio Country Club’s Anthony de Leon during the simple launching ceremonies of the Baguio Flower Festival last Monday, Oct. 13.

De Leon is the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation, Inc. (BFFFI) Executive Chairman, tasked to manage the affairs of Panagbenga 2009.

With him were Congressman Mauricio Domogan and Mayor Reinaldo Bautista, Jr., who both promised “substantial support” for the activities.

The mayor emphasized that the event is “community-led and government-supported.” Members of the Baguio Centennial Committee (BCC) were also present to affirm their full support to the flower festival centenary version. Frequent coordination meetings were scheduled between the two bodies for activities to complement each other, BCC chairperson Virgilio Bautista said.

With the theme, “Our Festival…Yours Too!” the 14th version of Panagbenga shall have its grand opening on February 1, the Market Encounter from Feb. 1 to March 8, the Fluvial Parade on Valentines day, “Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom,” on Feb. 22, Abanao Nights from Feb. 26-28 and the most awaited Grand Street Parade along Session road on Feb. 28. The float parade will be on March 1, at the same venue.

Right after the street and float parades, Session road shall be cleared for the “Session Road in Bloom,” from March 2-March 8 where floral-themed accessories are sold and flower-inspired activities done within the area. Promenaders and café-goers shall also be allowed in the area.

On March 7, Baguio Pony Boys and fun riders shall have their day of exhibition rides, games and activities on horseback. Known as “Gymkhana,” the event is reminiscent of oldenBaguio days when horse afficionados would come together and prove their mettle on horse games. Horses then were the primary mode of transportation to and from the agricultural and mining areas.

Closing ceremonies shall be on March 8, de Leon said.

The extra week Innovations to the activities abound, de Leon added, including string quartet and ballet performances during the fluvial parade, usually done at the Burnham Park Lake. Additional activities are being awaited.

Activities are bigger due to the flower festival’s joint celebration with the centenary, de Leon clarified.

As to sponsored events, de Leon said that there shall be no sponsor dominance, nor commercialization for the festival.

Congressman Domogan also emphasized that the flower festival is meant to be a thanksgiving event, for the promotion of unity and to sustain the tourism industry in the city.

The congressman downplayed expectations of a house bill approval, a move to regulate festivals in the country due to the presently-felt economic crisis.

Schedule of Events (Taken from byahilo.com)

February 1 GRAND OPENING
Field Demonstration - Melvin Jones Athletic Bowl

February 1 – March 8 ENCOUNTER LANDSCAPING CONTEST - Burnham Park
February 14 FLUVIAL PARADE - Burnham Lake
February 22 Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom*** Melvin Jones
February 23 – 25 Legarda Rocks*** Legarda Road
February 26-28 Abanao Nights- Abanao Street
February 28 GRAND STREET PARADE Field Demonstration - Session Road Athletic Bowl
March 1 GRAND FLOAT PARADE - Athletic Bowl
March 2 – 8 SESSION ROAD IN BLOOM Session Road
March 8 CLOSING CEREMONY Athletic Bowl

Photo courtesy of Philskies

CLARK FREEPORT — At least 21 balloons from 14 countries are set to fly Clark skies in the upcoming 12th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF) to be held from February 7-10 at the ADAC of the Philippine Air Force here.

Clark Development Corporation (CDC) president Liberato Laus said this year’s 12th PIHBF is a highlight of the “Clarksiyahan” — a “packet of activities” to be held from February 8-10 at the CDC Parade Grounds.

Clarksiyahan, Laus furthered, would also feature a drag race, quiz bee, inter-school street dancing, PEP squad competition, locators’ product selling, bikini open, and the Johnny Walker rave party and fashion show.

Joi Roa, president of Air Ads and committee chairman of the PIHBF, said of the 21 balloons, 19 are flown by foreign pilots from 13 countries while the other two are flown by Filipino pilots.

Roa assured spectators that this year’s event would be highlighted by new and colorful balloons which include two novelty balloons — an octopus from Japan and a tiger from Germany.

The pilots participating in the event come from the Philippines, Sweden, the United States, Hungary, Thailand, Malaysia, Germany, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Finland, Japan, Switzerland, England, and South Korea.

Also, the event would feature four paragliders, three from Malaysia and one from France, who are flying thrice daily for the whole duration of the event, Roa said.

Aside from the paragliders, Roa said planes and a chopper from Kuala Lumpur and Thailand would be flown into the country to participate in the four-day event.

Other new highlights of this year’s PIHBF are carnival rides and ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) where spectators would have the chance to ride an ATV in a dirt area that would also serve as an exhibit venue.

Laus said the 12th PIHBF is expected to outdo last year’s event, which hoarded more than 100,000 spectators.

He added that reports reaching his office revealed that last year’s balloon fiesta has doubled by more than 100 percent based on the more than 100,000 gate receipts collected by event organizers. (RGN)

Schedule of Activities (courtesy of Daigdig Pinoy)

14th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF) 2009 Schedule

Hi! I havent been able to post anything lately since Im too swamped with work. I had been assigned to work on some priority one issues and those little issues take a whole lot of my time. Anyway, now that I'm back, just wanna share you images of my recent purchases. Well, it hasnt been that many for the past two weeks, but over the weekend I'll be posting more pics since most of my items are gonna arrive either Friday or Saturday.


I got a manicure and had Caronia's A Touch of Tan all over my nails. Since Im all out for the neutral look, if I can do it on my face, might as well do the same thing on my nails. =)

I decided to dropby Landmark Department store to check out some makeup brushes. And look what I got! L&C Round Crease brushes! I've been craving for these brushes for the longest time and that's actually one of the reasons why I bought crease brushes off CoastalScents' website.

Pros:

• L&C brushes are dirt cheap; these babies sell for only P39.75 a piece.
• L&C brushes are available locally; No need for online purchases and drama sequences with the Post Office. LOL.
• They are almost as good as other drugstore brand brushes.

Cons:

• Since they're dirt cheap, they sell really fast. So once you've discovered that they're back in stock, boy, you need to do a lot of hoarding. Seriously.
• These little devils are big time shedders. Yes, they shed really bad during washing, that's why you need to purchase plenty of them. Make sure you also have something to de-clog your sink with after washing these babies. Teehee.

So there. After my purchase, I trekked down to my office. And since Ayala Avenue was closed to traffic last Saturday, I had to walk from Landmark to Paseo de Roxas and I arrived late.. again. Sheesh.

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE! STAY PRETTY! ^_^

The word Goodbye... Why is it so hard to say it out loud?

If you're one of those who read my recent posts on GT, then you'll have an idea on who I'm referring to at this point.

I'm referring to my baby, my Coastal Scents Pink Kabuki brush. I lost her during our Christmas party at A.Venue on Makati Avenue last December 13, 2008. I guess it fell out of my glittery, metallic pink pouch. I brought her with me because it matches the color of my pouch. I only realized that she was missing when I washed my brushes on Sunday morning. So tragic and sad...

I will definitely get a replacement for her, but not now.

Goodbye baby. I hope you're doin' okay wherever you're at right now. Mommy will always love you. sniff.

• It's cold wax, therefore, there's no heating required, unlike Epillin.


• It comes with a spatula and cloth strips that you could use to put on wax and to take out hair from wherever you wanna remove it.


• It takes out hair just as good as Epillin would.


• It is made out of natural ingredients, hence there are less chances of getting skin irritations after.


• It only costs Php 160.00 (approx $3.34) for a 150g tub which will last you for quite a long period of time, if will be used on small areas.

Cons:

• It is not available at drugstores like Watsons or Mercury Drug. I purchased mine at Ebay, and I think you could see this being sold at Bazaars only.


• Since it's made out of honey and brown sugar, it attracts ants, so be careful with storage.


• If you're a newbie with waxing (just like me), it may take some time before you get used to the pain of pulling hair from within. So taking an Advil or any brand of Mefenamic Acid 30 to 45mins before waxing may be a very important tool for you, especially if you have a very low threshold for pain.

Will I repurchase?

Yes, until the day comes when I learn to make my very own homemade wax. ^_^

Personal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

To live up to the Christmas spirit, we decided to have an exchange of gifts amongst ourselves (the officers of the Company) and to spice things up, we decided to post a wishlist. For me, I decided to ask for a Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara in Black. I have seen reviews on it on YouTube and I decided that it'll be a very nice gift for Christmas. It turned out that it was my boss who got my name and on December 31st, just before I left for our New Year break, this is what I got from him..

Personal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars for packaging and quality

Will I purchase one for myself once it's all used up? Definitely, this is one of the best mascaras that I have tried in my entire life! It definitely gave volume and length to my forever dull lashes. ^_^

Yeah, I know. Im guilty and Im really sorry for not being able to put up something for the past couple of weeks or so. Aside from the tons of workload that I have to deal with, I lost Internet connection at home which made me computer illiterate during those days,lol (blame PLDT for cutting down wires by mistake near our place approximately 3 days before Christmas...grrr). Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays with their loved ones and dear friends. I did make the most out of it with my family and some of my friends and officemates. I did shop around for some stuff during the holidays and got some gifts as well. I'll post the pics once I get hold of my flash disk (which I let my officemate borrow so he could give me copies of pics during our teambuilding cum team drinking, hehehe. I'll be posting pics of my recent purchases soon, but for now...