Gong Festival 2019 Celebration in Baguio City

Baguio City celebrates Indigenous Peoples (IP) Month by staging Gong Festival 2019.

Now on its seventh year, the celebration commenced with mural painting on identified walls going to Quezon Hill, Naguilian Road last Thursday, October 3, 2019. Around twenty local artists volunteered and led this activity which will take at least two weeks to finish.

Gong Festival 2019|Schedule of Activities

October 13, 2019, 8:00 AM

According to Gong Festival Director Raffy Kapuno, there will be a Gongvergence parade on October 13, 2019, which will start from the top part of Session Road and end at the Ibaloy Heritage Garden. Different Indigenous Peoples (IP) groups, together with other participating organizations, will be joining the parade in their native attire while playing their gongs.

After the parade, a program shall follow at the Ibaloy Heritage Garden at Burnham Park.

October 5-30, 2019

From October 5 to 30, 2019, Ili-Likha Artist’s Watering Hole will be hosting an exhibit of artworks by several talented artists that you can check out.

October 20, 2019

On October 20, 2019, a friendly competition among IP groups, featuring indigenous games, will be held at the Japanese Garden.

Gong Festival is for cultural sharing.

According to Kapuno, the month-long festival aims to be a venue where different Cordilleran cultural groups can converge and be able to impart knowledge about their culture and heritage.

“The gong festival will also impart to the public on how to use traditional attire the proper way as well as to teach the youth traditional dances,” he added.

The festival director, married to Cordilleran filmmaker Jo Kapuno, also revealed that they have plans to encourage and invite IP groups from Southeast Asian countries like Cambodia and Myanmar to join the annual cultural celebration in the city of Baguio.