Heritage parade opens Kasadya sa Downtown

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City’s project to revitalize Colon St. kicked off yesterday, the start of the annual “Kasadya sa Downtown” celebration.

That, as about four hectares in the South Road Properties (SRP) will be utilized for the month-long “Kasadya sa SRP” targeted to start on December 9 until the Grand Sinulog Celebration day.

The celebration in Colon yesterday started with a parade by students, drum and bugle corps, private companies and public officials in what was called a heritage walk. They gathered in three different parts of Colon and met at the obelisk, a marker stating Colon’s being the oldest street in the country.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama officially opened the event, encouraging building and business owners to bring back the life in the streets by putting lights and making their own effort in the beautification project of the city.

Rama said they started the project because they can see the big difference of how vibrant the street of Colon used to be, and that it should continue to be that way.

George Chu, president of the Downtown Revitalization Project, said they would want to bring back the old Colon especially since it was known to be the center of trade and industry.

“This year, the theme is to bring back the businesses that brought a lot of income to the owners,” he said. He explained that currently, those who still have businesses within Colon have very minimal income since not many people visit their establishments.

This is one reason why they have moved out their businesses to other parts of the city like the malls, Chu added. 

Chu said they are excited about the project since a lot of the private business owners are enthusiastic and participative. He said that even for the opening of the Kasadya, the City did not spend for the decorations since the building owners paid for the decorations outside theirs establishments along the heritage parade.

Over 30 different schools and other organizations participated in the heritage parade which was followed by a video presentation from the architecture department of the University of San Carlos. The USC showed a study on Colon’s past, present and how it should look like in the future.

Chu said they would still be having a lot of studies in the coming months so that they can push through with the best way to bring back the glory of the old Colon.

Meanwhile, security of the Kasadya sa Downtown was in place. Cebu City Police Office Director Melvin Ramon Buenafe assured that he designated police officers all over Colon and put up police centers.

Buenafe said they expect more people to be in the city these coming days especially with a lot of activities for the Christmas season and the upcoming Sinulog Festival.

“We assure the people that we have ample force deployed all over the city to make sure that everybody is safe.”

Meanwhile, about four hectares in the South Road Properties will be utilized for the month-long “Kasadya sa SRP.”

 The fair will be located in the lot across the SM property or at corner of the Mambaling Access Road which is more accessible to the public, especially those from the south district.

Lawyer Dominic Diño, assistant city administrator for economic enterprise, said the Kasadya will have different components for the constituent’s nightly entertainment.

There will be a Food Fair, Market Fair, Carnival and the Firecracker zone.

The City Market Operations Division headed by Racquel Arce is in charge of the preparation and has started accepting reservations for slots. There are about 60 firecrackers and pyrotechnic vendors who applied permit to vend at the firecracker zone at the SRP.

Diño said since the event will be done for the first time, they will be imposing discounted registration fees to those who will participate in the Food and Maket Fairs.

He assured that the firecracker zone is distant from the Food Fair, Market Fair and the Carnival to avoid accidents. — (FREEMAN)