Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama declares the official start of the Sinulog Rewind 2021. He is joined by Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia (center). | photo grabbed from SFI video
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The virtual Sinulog Festival on January 16, 2022, will take on a similar form as it did last year, an eight-hour whole day event featuring nostalgia.
Mayor Michael Rama said that the city government has decided to keep the Sinulog Festival this year to a minimum because of the threat of the ongoing pandemic and the devastation of Typhoon Odette.
It has been suggested that the virtual events will start at 8 a.m. on January 16 running for eight hours in two major broadcast stations including MyTv and CCTN, and through live streaming on Facebook and Youtube.
The virtual event will begin with an opening billboard, live coverage of the opening Mass at Fort San Pedro grounds, and then a message from Mayor Michael Rama.
For every quarter of the hour on stream, five to eight minutes will be for short documentation of Sinulog activities both entertainment and nostalgia.
This would include excerpts of the winners and awarding ceremonies from 2010 to 2020, a decade’s worth of festivals pre-pandemic.
A brief history of Sinulog will also be showcased and interviews of affected participants such as dancers, propsmen, and choreographers will be also be featured.
Mayor Rama said the goal of the virtual Sinulog is to remind the public what the celebration was pre-pandemic and keep the memories fresh in their hearts.
This should also give hope of a brighter future ahead that the Sinulog will soon be celebrated as grand as it was.
The final hour of the virtual Sinulog will be dedicated to a donation drive or telethon for the victims of Typhoon Odette and the rehabilitation of the city.
The aim is for kind-hearted individuals to reach the city government faster for donations and relief goods for the residents.
“Our efforts towards recovery should be the expression of our faith to our Patron, Señor Santo Niño, the Holy Child Jesus, whose feast we start to celebrate today,” said the mayor. /rcg
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