ILOILO CITY (PIA) – Close to 5,000 individuals are expected to participate in this year’s grand cultural parade as part of the 21st Chinese New Year celebration in Iloilo City on January 31, 2025.
The said delegations will come from the Hua Siong College of Iloilo, Sun Yat Sen High School, Iloilo Scholastic Academy, Ateneo de Iloilo-Santa Maria Catholic School (ADI-SMCS), Chinese family associations in the city, and other volunteer groups.
The parade will pass through the Chinese-Filipino Friendship Arch at Iznart Street towards the Freedom Grandstand, where the festival highlights such as the Cultural Show and Fireworks Display will be held for this year’s edition of the celebration.
“We want to celebrate on a bigger scale. Over the last 20 years, our Chinese New Year celebration has gained many followers, and we usually celebrate under the Chinese-Filipino Friendship Arch. This time, we wanted to provide a larger and more conducive space,” Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. (IFFI) president Allan Ryan Tan said in a press conference on January 16.
Tan also emphasized the importance of the event in recognizing the contributions of the Chinese community to the city’s progress and culture.
This celebration highlights harmony between the Chinese and Filipino communities. Iloilo takes pride in being the first city outside Metro Manila to host such an event,” he added.
This year’s celebration, hosted by the ADI-SMCS, is anchored to the theme, “Providence: A Celebration of Grace, Gratitude, and Growth,” which focuses on giving gratitude for the blessings received in the past year, while also hoping for future prosperity.
“When we say providence, we want to focus not really on prosperity, but on the divine being that makes prosperity possible. So, gratitude is very important that, just like the snake that is very graceful, I hope we become like that, full of grace, which means we acknowledge the blessings of the divine being,” said ADI-SMCS president Fr. Joseph Raymund Patrick Sanchez, SJ.
Other activities during the celebration include a thanksgiving mass, cultural show, fireworks display, food festival, and Chinese New Year Mall Show.
Joining Tan and Fr.Sanchez during the press conference were IFFI chairman Rito Carlo “Judgee” Peña, and IFFI liaison officer Charlie Ho. (AAL/JNH/PIA Iloilo)
