Calgary summer fest celebrates Filipino culture, community spirit

Hundreds flock to Calgary for an annual summer festival in the Canadian city that celebrates Filipino culture and heritage.

ABS-CBN News

<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-umWX2lnHuw?&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>Prairie Winds Park in northeast Calgary was abuzz as hundreds joined in on the fun at the 4th Philippine Calgary Summer Festival. The festival, organized by veteran local media personalities Violeta and Renato Barnachea, drew a diverse crowd of community members. It also brought together local business leaders, food vendors, and even government officials for a day of cultural celebration and community spirit.Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Muhammad Yaseen opened the event and warmly welcomed the attendees.&quot;This is to promote multiculturalism, the Filipino&#x27;s rich cultural heritage and tradition, and to promote unification of various races,&quot; said Violeta Barnachea. &quot;This is also our way of thanking our &#x27;Kababayans&#x27; for their cooperation.&quot;Renato Barnachea, meanwhile, said the event is &quot;a representation of the Filipino-Canadian community here in Calgary. That&#x27;s why whether it&#x27;s sunny or cold, they came here to be with the Fil-Canadian community.&quot;Attendees were treated to song and dance performances and the highly anticipated dragon dance.Alberta&#x27;s former Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women Leela Aheer performed for the audience in Filipino. Jonathan Buencamino of IntroVois also joined the celebration.Local musician Eds Villanueva, for his part, shared his reason for joining the festival.&quot;I&#x27;ve been with them since the beginning,&quot; he said. &quot;This is my way of giving back to the community, sharing my talent and skills for the enjoyment of Filipinos here in Calgary.&quot;Food was a definite highlight of the day, with various booths offering a mouthwatering selection of Filipino cuisine, such as bistek tagalog, tapa, and silog meals.Philippine Consul General to Calgary Emma Sarne also attended the event and celebrated with kababayans.  &quot;A lot of people came not just food vendors but also Filipino-owned educational institutions and other small business owners,&quot; said Sarne. &quot;Filipino-owned businesses were also here.&quot;For the local business community, the festival is a great way of showing the strong bond within the Filipino-Canadian community.&quot;We&#x27;ve always supported this,&quot; said Ron Ala of the Pacific Hut &amp; PH Bakers. &quot;What they&#x27;re doing is right and we&#x27;ve always participated [in it]. We support Filipinos here in Calgary.&quot;Myla Ignacio of ACE Career College, meanwhile, said it was important that Filipinos in Canada do not forget their culture. &quot;We are able to share it with others,&quot; she said. &quot;At the same time, we are also learning from others, and you can see the unity—that is what&#x27;s important. It&#x27;s also heartwarming because even the next generation, the second generation, is here as well.&quot;Members of Parliament also joined the festivities and underscored the importance of the event in fostering cultural exchange and community engagement.&quot;We are always in touch with the great Filipino community,&quot; said Jasraj Singh Hallan, MP for Calgary Forest Lawn. &quot;They are the fabric of the fastest-growing communities and for good reasons. We share values of hard work, family, and Canadian values, and it is so great to see the contribution.&quot;Said Tim Uppal of Edmonton Mill Woods: &quot;Seeing small businesses here, they are working so hard. It is what it is about — being Canadian. We are putting in that work and getting back that reward.&quot;

Hundreds flock to Calgary for an annual summer festival in the Canadian city that celebrates Filipino culture and heritage.

PH summer fest in Calgary celebrates Filipino culture, community spirit | ABS-CBN

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PH summer fest in Calgary celebrates Filipino culture, community spirit

PH summer fest in Calgary celebrates Filipino culture, community spirit

ABS-CBN News,

Jihan Alisangco | TFC News Calgary

Published Aug 28, 2024 07:37 PM PHT

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