Amid calamities, and rising prices, Cebuanos told to focus on faith

THEMATIC PERFORMANCE.The Abellana National High School students practice for the Sinulog 2014 Grand Parade amid the backdrop of the color-coded Cebu City Sports Center grandstand. (CDN PHOTO/ LITO TECSON)

It’s two weeks to go before the Sinulog Grand Parade and Sinulog ticket seller Emil Pascual is slightly worried.

Pascual said they have so far sold only 335 out of 6,500 tickets as of last Thursday morning.

“Na-worry pod ko kay mas ni mahal man gud ang tickets,” (I’m worried because the prices of the tickets have increased) he said.

Ticket prices for the 2014 Sinulog Grand Parade, the finale for the annual celebration, went up by P200 this year.

Pink and green tickets used to be priced P600 will now be sold at P800 each while the yellow section tickets will be sold at P1,000 each. Grandstand tickets will be priced at P1,200 each while the balikbayan/VIP tickets will now be sold at P2,500 each.

The layout of the seating arrangement at the Cebu City Sports Center grandstand.

Stronger than ever

Earlier, Sinulog Foundation Executive Director Ricky Ballesteros said he expects attendance to rise in the Sinulog’s religious processions rather than the secular festivities.

“With what’s happening now, I think our faith is stronger than ever. We’re expecting more people to join the religious activities. Sinulog isn’t just a cultural activity but a religious celebration as well,” Ballesteros said.

“(Even with what happened late last year) we have more reasons to celebrate. That is what Sinulog is about. It is the celebration of life,” the Sinulog Foundation official said.

So far, Pascual said their fastest-selling tickets are the P1,200 “yellow” variant followed by the pinktickets at P800 and the blue VIP and green tickets priced at P2,500 and P1,000 respectively.

This year will also be the first time that the Sinulog foundation will use QR (Quick Response) codes in its grandstand tickets in a bid to discourage scalpers who sell tickets at twice their prices to interested buyers.

Ballesteros said part of the proceeds raised for the event will go to Yolanda relief efforts.

The Cebu provincial government donated P1 million as assistance for the Sinulog celebration.

“We weren’t expecting that the Cebu provincial government would give us P1 million because we also know that the northern part of Cebu recently just suffered the onslaught of supertyphoon Yolanda. But Sinulog isn’t only for Cebu City, it’s for the whole province,” Ballesteros said.

Due to typhoon Yolanda, there won’t be any Leyte contingents in the Grand Parade.

Live screen

There will be nine contingents for the Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Lalawigan, 12 contingents for the Sinulog sa Dakbayan, and seven out-of-town contingents.

Compared to last year’s 40 contingents, Ballesteros said they expect 30 to 35 contingents for the grand parade.

“The prizes will be given by the Cebu City government. Other budgetary requirements will come from other sources of income such as sponsorship and ticket sales,” he adds.
Ballesteros said they will incorporate last year’s calamities into the performances with the concept”faith withstands all” as the grand finale.

He said the stage will have two different themes.

Better concept

In the morning, nature will be the dominant look as monochromatic blue will be the main color of the backdrop.

At night, a three-dimensional facade of the Basilica Del Santo Niño will be channeled on the stage.

Seven LED screens will be installed in strategic locations in Cebu City to broadcast live the events inside the sports complex.

Ballesteros said he asked the fireworks committee to present better concepts despite having the same P300,000 budget this year.

A concert featuring Cebuano and Manila artists will be held at the South Road Properties (SRP) to cap off the local festival at 12 midnight.