Parade, sky lanterns to kick off Earth Hour

Hundreds of paper sky lanterns will float above the Plaza Independencia at 8:30 p.m. tonight as Cebu City marks the start of the switch-off hour of the worldwide Earth Hour celebrations.

Cebu City is one of three sites in the Philippines where Earth Hour ceremonies will be held. The two other cities are Davao and Makati.

“Since 2008, all Earth Hour ceremonies led by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) have been in Manila but for 2012, we decided to spread it out to three sites,” said Sofia Regina Dedace, communications officer of WWF.

A walkathon and street parade at 5:30 p.m. from Fuente Osmena to Plaza Independencia will kick off the event. Aboitiz Group president Erramon Aboitiz will lead the activity. It will also be participated by Ms Earth 2008 Karla Henry. Sinulog dancers will also join the parade.

At 7 p.m. the program at the Plaza Independencia will follow with the light off activity from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. A candle lighting activity and the release of biodegradable sky lanterns will be held.

At the Asiatown IT Park, bikers will hold an “Earth Hour Night Ride” organized by Habagat Cebu, at 6:30 p.m.

Yesterday environment groups led by 350.org held a launch rally by painting bike lanes along parts of Osmena Boulevard.

“The biking community here in Cebu is growing. We believe that with more bicycle lanes people will be encouraged to use this non-polluting mode of transportation,” said Vince Cinches of 350.org. /UP Intern Sean Anthony Salvador