WATCH: Gabii sa Kabilin 2016

41 participating heritage sites in Cebu, spanning from the north in Mandaue City, including the Mactan island and down to Talisay City and Carcar City in the south, Gabii sa Kabilin 2016 is indeed getting bigger this year. If you are a regular of Gabii sa Kabilin, your goal should be a planned visit to heritage sites, which you didn’t manage to visit the previous years. But for first-timers like Escooper, Scotty Johnson, a safe bet would be within the radius where the  night of heritage visits started: in Casa Gorordo Museum.

Casa Gorordo Museum has been experiencing a facelift. The wear and tear of over a century structure is a factor for heritage preservers to pay close attention to the need for a sturdier repository of over century-old items. But despite the ongoing interior redesign, the museum is the choice for the opening of this year’s Gabii sa Kabilin.

As you watch the video above, Escooper Scotty Johnson had fun exploring the museum, the first time for him to do so during this special event.

Appreciation of Cebu’s cultural sites and heritage is the goal of Gabii sa Kabilin. Thankfully, it is not only Scotty, a first-timer to appreciate the treasures of Cebu. Many foreigners also signed up to check the sites and to do sight-seeing despite the dusky schedule.

Worth noting is that Cebu’s Gabii sa Kabilin is a replication of the efforts done in Europe, which is Lange Nacht der Museen or Long Nights in the Museum. The night heritage visits started in Berlin.

Berlin is the global cultural city with its beautiful museums, colorful culture and creative industries. An important global city in the developed world, the German city’s recognition may be deemed an inspiration for Cebu City, which happens to be recognized as the ASEAN city of culture.

Cebu City is now the benchmark for other Philippine cities to maintain, preserve and highlight their cultural heritage as assets for improving their tourism receipts. Vigan is a close contender of Cebu City, when it comes to cultural heritage appreciation, noting that the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Efforts of cultural preservation are apparent to cities such as Lapu-lapu City, Carcar City and Mandaue City, all of them in Cebu province and part of the Metro Cebu.

Tips for first-timers in Gabii sa Kabilin 2016

1. Always begin in the museum closer to the building of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc., (RAFI). RAFI is the organizer of this yearly event and its building happens to be located across Casa Gorordo Museum and very near to other cultural sites such as Yap-Sandiego Museum, Old Jesuit Museum, Parian Monument, Cebu Cathedral Museum and Sto. Nino Museum.
2. Experience the calesa ride. Although Scotty finds compassion to the horses  used in calesa, he surely had fun riding in one. The calesa ride in the city only happens in Gabii sa Kabilin. But this century-old mode of transportation can still be found in other Philippine cities. In Cebu City, it is not anymore that common, apparently because of modernization.
3. Take cameras with you. Capture the moments as you take the pictures of century-old items preserved in the participating museums. Appreciate the wierdness of some artifacts. Enjoy the moments with your friends as you venture inside the museums or other heritage sites.
4. Post your special Gabii sa Kabilin moments in social media. If you happen to have portable wifi devices or have mobile phones on data service, don’t forget to share your moments on social media and make other people envy your Gabii sa Kabilin journey. Take a selfie or group selfies. Post them on Facebook, Instagram or Twittee. You may use #GabiiSaKabilin in your social media posts. Using the hashtag will be greatly appreciated by the organizers.
5. Take the MyBus experience. MyBus is the newest feature in this year’s Gabii sa Kabilin, something that is highlighted during the interview of Scotty with Dr. Jocelyn Gerra, the head of Cultural and Heritage Unit of RAFI.

Many things can be done during the night-owl experience of venturing Cebu’s cultural heritage sites. If you miss this year’s Gabii sa Kabilin, there will always be another and better moments for this kind of event next year.

If Scotty enjoyed the Gabii sa Kabilin despite visiting only 5 out of 41 participating sites, you could also the enjoy the same next year.