THERE may be fewer out-of-town groups competing in this Sunday’s grand parade but there will be more dancing contingents and entries in different contests this year than last year, organizers said.
They were also surprised with the high turnout of guests who want to get seats at the grandstand, with only a few hundred tickets left as of yesterday.
“The tickets were almost sold out on the second day of Sinulog week. There are also more participants in the parade with better production, so it will be more fun. In fact, it seems like the country is not in the middle of a financial crisis,” said Sinulog Foundation Inc. executive director Ricky Ballesteros in Cebuano.
As of yesterday, 42 contingents had registered to compete in the street-dancing contest and two more are expected to register. Last year, there were 42 entries.
There are also at least 33 entries in the float category, 18 puppeteers and 26 “higante” entries.
He lamented that only five out-of-town contingents have joined the street dancing this year, or barely half of the 10 to 12 groups that participated in previous years.
Registered
They are the Pintaflores Festival of San Carlos City, Negros Occidental; Placer in Masbate; Tangub City; Lanao del Norte; and Surala, North Cotabato have already registered.
Twenty-one contingents will be competing in the Sinulog-based and free interpretation categories.