Sakay-Sakay Festival

Since the time of our great-grandparents, flovial procession or sakay-sakay has been a tradition every January as part of the festivities of the Holy Child Sto. Nino.  The Sinulog celebration in Cebu welded its influence to Maasin since the original Sto. Nino image was brought by Ferdinand Magellan as a gift to Rajah Humabon and Queen Juana.  The sinulog festivities spread to the different parts of the Visayas and the whole country, including Maasin.

Sinulog celebrations in Maasin at the start were only limited to drum beats and dances at the church premises.  Then families began to celebrate the occasion in their respective homes.  Then clans organized panaaran or devotion to the Holy Child whom they believe to shower graces and blessings.

The Knighthawks organized street dancing contests along the streets of Maasin which culminate in dance presentations at the Anatalio Gaviola Plaza.  But due to finacial constraints it was stopped.  Without the Sinulog dance contests the flovial processions continued to grace the seas of Maasin every third Sunday of the year.  It was the official church declared feast day for Senor Sto. Nino and no longer the original January 15.

Then came the time when the city government revived the contests for Sakay-sakay with pumpboat and banca categories, icon decoration, and higante contests and later on dance presentations.

There a time when Maasin became a new city and it sent contingents to the Cebu Sinulog Grand Parade.  That was in 2001, 2002 and 2003.  However, there were clamors for improving the Sto. Nino festivities in Maasin rather than spending millions to Cebu City.  Thus the Sakay-sakay Festival was institutionalized as the premier religious festival in the city.  In fact, it is now the number one Holy Child Flovial Festival in Region 8.