Bohol’s Blue Grass Project Wins in Hong Kong Flower Show 2023

Barely a year after representing & winning for the Philippines the Best Creative Design Award- Professional category at the 12^th International FDSS Floral Design Competition held in Singapore last year, the Bohol- based Blue Grass Project of Boy Dumadag & Michael Yu won another international award.

Blue Grass Project was conferred the Grand Award at the 2023 Hong Kong Flower Show for Unique Feature International Category. 

Dubbed simply as “ROTOR” their award- winning floral installation was predominantly made from wicker, bamboo, raffia, dried botanicals, pebbles, wire, metals. Rotor made use of gloriosa superba, eustoma, dianthus, alocasia amazonica, gypsophila, pink cordeline, anthuriums, garden roses and tillandsia.

The design was a tribute to people’s tenacity and resilience in the midst of obstacles and challenges. During an exclusive interview, Mr. Dumadag and Mr. Yu explained that the rotor is the moving part of a turbine that provides the lift that enable rotary wings to fly.

“After pandemic lockdowns in Bohol, Philippines that halted trade, travel & tourism for two years and followed by super typhoon that devastated the entire island, it was imperative that Boholanos rise and pick up the pieces again. Our people were able to hurdle that dark chapter because we were able to restart the engine that would enable us to move forward. That engine, that force, that persistence became our driving force. We are therefore the rotors of our own lives.”

The storyline and the design concept resonated with the floral exhibit’s organizers, judges, participants and visitors alike because they could relate with Blue Grass Project’s journey. In fact, the floral show was also put on a two- year hiatus before it reopened again this year. Huge crowds came in droves to Victoria Park to celebrate the return of the annual Hong Kong Flower Show in Causeway Bay after it was cancelled in 2020 due to safety concerns brought by the COVID19 pandemic

The annual flower show is organized by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD.  

The Philippines also won the Merit Award Unique Feature Category & the World Flower Council – Philippines Chapter got the judges’ nod for the Grand Award for Design Excellence.