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Bigger Pinoy festival set in British Columbia in June

The second iteration of a Filipino festival in British Columbia promises to be bigger this year.

Article (news)

Rowena Papasin

TFC News

<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w0T9tm2h5ZY?&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>Organizers of this year&#x27;s Pinoy Festival in British Columbia have vowed a bigger celebration on June 22.The Pinoy Festival Alliance and the Mabuhay Mouse Society are co-organizers of the event that has the support of more than 90 Filipino organizations.Leaders of the group expect more attendees to this year&#x27;s iteration as the gathering moves the bigger Swangard Stadium in Burnaby.Activities in the event include the Hataw Zumbayanan, which is expected to be a big hit among festival-goers as organizers aim for a wider audience participation.The festival also promises the largest &quot;Sissiwit&quot; or the Igorot tribal dance.A beer garden, one of the event&#x27;s highlights, is also expected to draw crowds this year.Filipino-Canadian councilor Maita Santiago said she is grateful that Burnaby has given a grant to the festival that aims to celebrate Filipino culture.Santiago added that she feels inspired by the overwhelming community support for the festival.&quot;From Cordillera to Mindanao, from the youth to the seniors, we&#x27;ve really got everybody joining in,&quot; she said. &quot;It&#x27;s heart-warming, very inspiring. It will be a day to show our culture, our unity, and our pride.&quot;Mabuhay House Society chairperson Sammie Jo Rumbaua is hopeful that the Pinoy festival will further strengthen community engagement while promoting the cultural heritage of Filipinos.Organizers previously called for a community meeting to ensure participation of many groups in the planning of the activities.&quot;There will be panda rides and Filipino Pinoy Olympics for the kids,&quot; said Rumbaua, &quot;and also an exciting art exhibit. We&#x27;re going to have a competition for the youth category to do on-the-spot painting and also a seniors&#x27; category, for them to do some painting.&quot;Local talents, rappers, DJs, as well as other live musical performers are expected to pull in the young Filipinos to the event.Vino Cuenca, a youth volunteer coordinator, stressed that for young Filipinos like him who were born and raised in Canada, it is important to continue to have a connection with the community.&quot;Growing up, I had a little bit of trouble connecting with my local Filipino community,&quot; he recalled. &quot;The Pinoy Festival celebrates Filipinos of all backgrounds, regardless of whether you moved here when you were younger or you were born here in Canada.&quot;Santiago, who served in the board of Mabuhay House Society, said it is remarkable to witness various Filipinos groups coming together to undertake this big project.&quot;At the end of the day, it&#x27;s about empowering our community, our leaders, our &#x27;Kababayan&#x27; and everybody,&quot; she added. &quot;This is a community effort. I think that&#x27;s something that we can really be proud of.&quot;The first Pinoy Festival in 2023 was also attended by several elected officials in British Columbia, including Premier David Eby.

The second iteration of a Filipino festival in British Columbia promises to be bigger this year.