Celebrate Community Spirit At The Community's Diverse Artistry, Culture, Cuisine and People Converge For Highly Anticipated Festival Weekend
(LOS ANGELES) – The 16th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture (FPAC), Southern California's largest and most lauded ongoing Filipino American tradition, is on! Taking place on Sept. 8 and 9, 2007 at breathtaking Point Fermin Park, 807 Paseo del Mar in San Pedro, this year's theme is "Handog," or "Offering" – in celebration of true community spirit as Filipino Americans from different walks of life gather together to bring you this 16th edition of pure community soul through artistry, culture, and food.
Comedian Rex Naverrete and upcoming Jazz singer Charmaine Clamor return to headline FPAC, with multi-awarded singer / songwriter Anthony Castelo and the world Hip Hop champions: Philippine All Stars. Authentic, traditional music and dance are brought to you by Kayamanan ng Lahi, BIBAK (Benguet, Ifugao, Bontoc, Apayao, Kalinga – 5 major tribes of the Northern Philippines) , Kultura, and others. Kali / Eskrima demonstrations are brought to you by eskrimadors Kapisanang Mandirigma, Pakamut, and Bahala Na. Leading the Hip Hop movement are: emcee Bambu, formerly of Native Guns, and DJ Icy Ice, who will be receiving the 2007 FilAm ARTS Artist Award.
Equally stellar are the non-profit, community-based partner organizations whose years of dedication make the Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture a shining example of community spirit – the 6th Annual Amateur DJ Battle is brought to you by Stacks Vinyl and the 9th Annual Balagtasan Poetry Slam is brought to you the KmB - Kabataang Makabayan. Film is featured at the 14th Annual "Pinoyvisions" co-presented by Visual Communications, the premiere Asian media center in the U.S. Visual art at the Pilipino Artists Network Pavilion is co-presented with Remy's On Temple Gallery and the California Arts Council.
Additional unique features of FPAC include: the 8th Annual Vegetable Competition at the Seniors Village that will be brought you by Manong Tony and Manang Angelita Ringor of Diversified Services for Youth & Seniors; arts, crafts, and games at the Youth Pavilion will be presented by community sponsor Search to Involve Pilipino Americans; and Filipino cuisine demonstrations at the Culinary Arts Pavilion will again be led by Chef Cecilia De Castro of Culinary Consultations and food producer for Wolfgang Puck.
A brand new area is the Workers Pavilion sponsored by the Pilipino Workers Center. The Pilipino Workers Center is a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to delivering services to overseas Filipino workers (OFW's) through education, legal advice, advocacy, and a low-cost remittance program called the PWC Remit Program.
Initiated by the City of Los Angeles back in 1990, the stewardship of the Annual Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture was transferred over to a non-profit organization now called FilAm ARTS – the Association for the Advancement of Filipino American Arts & Culture.
"Still true to its original intent since its inception, the Festival is designed to be a `common ground.' The aim of FPAC is to be as inclusive in every which way possible," says Executive Director Jilly Canizares. "This is seen in the conscious programming to include the rich diversity of Philippine artistic expressions – from old to new, traditional to contemporary, visual arts to cuisine. Coming to the Festival gives you a true slice of the Filipino American community."
Funded in part by the City of Los Angeles Dept of Cultural Affairs and L.A. District 15 Councilmember Janice Hahn, the L.A. County Arts Commission, the California Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts, FPAC is also sponsored by PWC Remit Program, El Pollo Loco, Macy's, Wells Fargo Bank, The Gas Company – a Sempra Energy Utilities company, and Washington Mutual. Media sponsors include: LA-18, KPFK 90.7 / 98.7, and mygringos.com.
For more information on exhibitor booth, table and volunteer, log onto www.filamarts. org, or call us at (323) 913-4663.