To dance at Panagbenga

There is nothing quite like dancing at the Panagbenga Festival. I mean, where else in the Philippines will you find a combination of grandiose flower arrangements, flag waving, drum and lyre playing, acrobatics, baton twirling, and spectacular costumes?

What's more, the entrants—most of them students, youth, and ethnic dance troupes—take the competition and all its criteria quite seriously. Whether it's a contemporary American song or a tribal beat, no musician is going to miss a note. If one is going to dance with a flower basket atop the head or slung onto the back, you can be sure it's not going to sail away after a single spin.

These people are professionals; they do this every year. Indeed, Kabayan Youth Cultural Dance Troupe of Kamora National High School has won for itself a place in the Hall of Fame after bagging First Place for the competition's Open Category—which it has been doing for the last three years.

Best of all, one need not worry about the potential waste of flowers harming the environment. Panagbenga 2014's theme is “Inspiring the community for a greener tomorrow,” and the organizers make sure that proper disposal of the flowers is practiced. — BM, GMA News