GETTING READY FOR THE SINULOG GRAND PARADE (CEBU CITY)

Scrambling for the almost fully-booked airline reservations and hotel accommodations for Cebu City on January 16, 2011 must be done now. I've done this a few minutes ago for a friend although I, on the other hand is confirmed to be going with friends chartering a private helicopter with Airgurus Ltd. Co... just to make sure I don't miss out feeling the beat and the rhythm of the grandest, most distinguished and most colorful festivals in the Philippines... Sinulog Festival!


This major festival is held each year in Cebu City to honor the Santo Niño or the child Jesus who used to be the patron saint of the whole province of Cebu (since in the Catholic faith, Jesus is not a saint but God). It is fundamentally a dance ritual remembering the Filipino pagan past and their recognition of Christianity.

 
The festival features some of the country's most colorful displays of ceremony and pageantry... participants are clothed in bright-colored costumes dancing to the rhythm of drums and native gongs. The streets are generally lined with vendors and pedestrians (foreign and local tourists) all wanting to witness the street dancing!

The celebration traditionally lasts for nine days, ending on the ninth day when the Sinulog Grand Parade reveals. The day before the parade, the Fluvial Procession, a water-parade, held at dawn from the Mandaue City wharf to Cebu City wharf with the Santo Niño carried on a pump boat decorated with hundreds of flowers and candles. The procession ends at the Basilica where a re-enactment of the Christianizing of Cebu follows. In the afternoon, a more formal procession takes place along the major streets of the city, which last for hours due to large crowd participating in the religious event. On the feast day, at the Basilica, a Pontifical Mass is held, given by the Cardinal with the assistance of several bishops of Cebu. The majority of the city’s population and devotees would flock to the Basilica to attend the mass before heading out to the streets to watch the Parade. 

Here's the schedule of the January 16, 2011 (Sunday)  SINULOG GRAND PARADE
4:00 AM    Mañanita Mass @Basilica del Sto. Niño
6:00 AM    Pontifical mass with His Eminence Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal
9:00 AM    Sinulog Grand Parade Carousel Kick Off
7:00 PM    Grand Fireworks, Cebu City Sports Center
7:30 PM    Street Party Bands, Fuente Osmeña 

I am so looking forward to see Cebu City in a different light... I can already imagine hovering the magnificent city  in the South of the Philippines and arriving in style. 

 

To charter for your own private helicopter just in case you ran out of commercial flights, call Airgurus 24/7 at +632 583 6337 / +632 854 4086 / +63 920 955 0897 / +63 917 596 6288 or email Airgurus Ltd. Co.