Traders flock to Cebu for Sinulog trade fair

CEBU, Philippines – Not only small traders from Cebu but also from different provinces are joining the annual Sinulog street fair along Osmeña Boulevard in Cebu City.

The street fair, organized by the Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI), aims to help traders showcase their products and generate income for the foundation.

Traders told The FREEMAN the stalls are leased at P40,000 each for a two-month period. The fair started early last month.

Jamal Sultan, 31, from Zamboanga City is one of the around 65 stall owners currently vending at the street fair. Sultan, a Muslim believer, sells “batik” clothes.

Sultan, who has been joining the fair for 15 years already, is hopeful that this year’s Sinulog will bring in more customers especially that the International Eucharistic Congress is also happening in Cebu this month.

Another trader from Davao City, 79-year-old Rosita De Castro, is looking forward to more Sinulog revelers buying souvenir shirts. The woman, who claimed as a devotee of Señor Santo Niño, has been joining the fair for a decade now.

Her family has been traveling to major festivals in the Philippines to sell souvenir shirts and Sinulog, she said, is of those that really give her family a good income.

Cebuana vendor Perla Vidas, 52, also said that aside from locals, they hope that “balikbayan” Filipinos and foreign visitors will also patronize their products. Vidas’ products are leather bags, key chains, home decors, personalized items and souvenir shirts.

Other vendors also have delicacies, accessories, wooden products and other native items to offer.

SFI annually organizes the street fair to raise funds for the Sinulog activities. (FREEMAN)