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Ibagiw Creative Festival – Baguio City is now not only known as the “Summer Capital of the Philippines” but is now also known as the lone city in the Philippines which is part of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network. With this, the 5th staging of the Ibagiw Creative Festival is also being highlighted in this year’s Ibagiw Creative Crawl. (Formerly known as the “Entacool Festival.”) It comes with the theme “Locally creative, Globally competitive,” with the aim of bringing Baguio City to the global art scene through our local artisanship.

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The Ibagiw Festival Creative Crawl 2022

This year, the Ibagiw Creative Crawl is going back to one of the birthplaces of creative art in Baguio City – The Tam-awan Village. The #CreativeCrawl highlights the arts and culture side of what Baguio is continuing to gear towards. As one of the major Art Hubs in the North, Baguio City showcases a multi-faceted city that welcomes people with warm smiles despite the cool climate.

I am lucky enough to be in this year’s roster of bloggers, vloggers, and influencers to witness and experience Ibagiw Creative Festival and the Ibagiw Creative Crawl first-hand. Together with local and Manila-based content creators, we were toured to some of the creative sites Baguio City has to offer.

Where we went for the Ibagiw Creative Crawl 2022

Opening Ceremony at Baguio Convention Center

The festivities of the Ibagiw Creative Festival 2022 kicked off at the Baguio Convention and Cultural Center where various performers and artists gave Ibagiw Creative Festival a lasting impression – that Baguio is more than just the Philippines’ Summer Capital but also the Art Haven in the North. We were treated to several light shows, dance performances, vocal prowesses, and the unveiling of the Ibagiw Creative Festival 2022 Logo on their revolving stage.

Tam-awan Village

We were then billeted to one of the city’s cradle for the arts – The Tam-awan Village. While having local breakfast, we were treated to some traditional Cordilleran dances showcasing the rich culture of the highlands.

BenCab Museum

Home to the National Artist for Visual Arts, Sir Ben Cabrera, the BenCab Museum is also the place where art meets culture. This renowned and famous museum is also a haven for local artists to showcase their work and everything else in between that is pleasing to the eye. BenCab Museum is also the home of Cafe Sabel.

Mount Cloud Bookshop

One of the most celebrated bookshops in Baguio, Mount Cloud houses various titles and selections for bookworms! As they have transferred to a new location along Brent Road, the vibe never changed and the smell of good ol’ books still mesmerizes me. It is a must-visit for book buffs and literary and art enthusiasts!

Mandëko Kito

Meaning “Let us Sell” in Ibaloi dialect, this annual fair showcases various local products from local suppliers in Baguio and in the Cordilleras. The Mandëko Kito Artisanal Fair is one of the main highlights of every Ibagiw Creative Festival and for this year, they have highlighted the importance of silver works in Baguio and how it shaped the city as it is today.

IliLikha Artists’ Pottinghole

The IliLikha Artists’ Pottinghole is one of Assumption Road main attractions since its inception in 2014. It is the brainchild of National Artist Eric de Guia aka Kidlat Tahimik and it features various hole-in-the-wall cafes which offer artisanal food and the overall artsy vibe of the place. It also features a small cinema where several independent films have been shown in the past.

Session Road

One of the highlights of the Ibagiw Creative Crawl is the open-air exhibitions showcased along Session Road. This is the place where people converge to showcase their “artistic side” and show it to locals and visitors alike. As it is done almost every Sunday, the open-air exhibits and fair is one of the up-and-coming tourist drawers in Baguio City.

Balai Studio Cafe

Meaning “house” or “home,” Balai Studio Cafe is a pandemic business that have thrived through the years since its creation. This collaborative space is also aimed to be a cradle for creatives, artists, bloggers, vloggers, and content creators in the future so they may have a common hub just along Baguio City’s central business district. 

Color Implosion Exhibit – Sonny Zandueta

Sonny Zandueta’s artwork are showcased along the hallways of Porta Vaga mall which conveys social awareness in between his worka of art. He is also the one who coined the term “Pintagraph,” which is a combination of print and paint media.

Hōka Brew

To top off all the events of the Ibagiw Creative Crawl, we were then treated to one of the best Mongolian buffets in town while enjoying the mountainous skyline of nearby Itogon. Hōka Brew in The Podium Hotel gave us a befitting end to this two-day showcase of Baguio Art – now through food and natural landscapes, too!

And the end of the event, after visiting all the places and sights that we must see and do in this edition of the Ibagiw Creative Crawl, we were awarded personalized medals to signify that we have completed all the tasks that we must fulfill – and I must say it is one for the books! It is an experience that you should also try when visiting Baguio City!

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For this edition of the Ibagiw Creative Festival, I would like to extend my special thanks to Agetyeng Travel and Tours, Baguio Creative City and the Baguio Tourism Council for including Turista Boy in this year’s Ibagiw Creative Crawl 2022! 🙂 

We’re born to travel!

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