A Brass Band Competition is the newest side event of Sinulog 2025 which you can’t dare to miss. It will be held on January 12 starting at the New Imus Road going to the Cebu City Sports Center. (PNA file photo)
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A brass band competition will be the latest and most exciting event to be witnessed among the Sinulog 2025 calendar of activities this year.
The competition is the newest being included in the lineup of Sinulog activities of the Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI).
SFI Executive Director Elmer “Jojo” Labella told CDN Digital in a phone interview on Thursday said that the competition will take place on January 12, Sunday, at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC).
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The parade will start at exactly 2 p.m. utilizing the route of the Sinulog sa Lalawigan which was omitted this year.
On January 12, the Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Dakbayan is also scheduled, but Labella said that the Brass Band competition will go first since the Sinulog sa Kabataan has a program that starts from Brgy. Mabolo “to give tribute to the original Sinulog dance in the 1950s or 1960s.”
After the program, the Sinulog sa Kabataan will proceed to the CCSC.
“This is the first time that we will have a brass band competition because every fiesta in our towns, there is a brass band that plays to provide beats and sounds like in processions,” Labella said in mixed Cebuano and English.
The SFI director added that through this competition, SFI and the Cultural and Historical Affairs Office (CHAO) are calling on individuals who play in brass bands, especially those interested in playing drums and bugle.
The organizers initially planned to include majorettes in the competition but due to time constraints, they had to cancel it.
“Next year, i-full blast nani with majorettes, karon wala usa,” Labella said.
As of January 2, Labella said that there are already seven participants who registered for the brass band competition including a group from Manila and the Cebu City Police. The SFI is targeting to get 10 participants.
There will be three winners to be declared in this competition and the prize is yet to be determined.
When asked if the winners can get to present in the ritual showdown on January 19, Labella said that it would be tough for now since they also needed to consider the billeting quarters.
As of now, they prioritized the billeting quarters for the ritual showdown contingents
“Maybe next time, ato ning studyhan nga apil sad ni sila (winners of brass band) sa awarding. Basta ang amo ani is maka start ta sa competition and hopefully next year mas mapadako nato,” Labella added.
The Brass Band competition next Sunday will start in Imus St. then to Carreta, then to P. Del Rosario, then to Osmeña Blvd., to R. Landon, then to the CCSC.