The Filipino Music and Food Street Festival celebrated Filipino culture in the northeast this past weekend.
The two-day event ran July 23 and 24 at Water Ridge Park in Humboldt.
The festivities featured Filipino food vendors, musicians and businesses.
City of Humboldt Mayor, Michael Behiel, told northeastNOW he was very happy with the turnout and the overall flow of the weekend.
“It was exactly what I hoped it would be,” he said. “It definitely helped with a cultural immersion for the people who chose to attend, and the inclusivity that we pride ourselves on.”
According to Behiel, this was one of the first events in Humboldt that was able to showcase the true aspects of Filipino culture.
“I recognized it was a fantastic opportunity to acknowledge and welcome the newer Filipino community to our city and let them know that they are a part of the culture. Also, on the same note, help those who are already here learn about their culture and understand the intricacies of where they’re coming from, so we can all blend together and exist together as one.”
Humboldt held similar events like these, such as German Fest, which celebrated the city’s own heritage of being a German settlement. However, that’s mostly been it.
Behiel hopes this gets the ball rolling and begins an expansion of cultural diversity and celebration.
“I know that the Ukrainian community is working toward having some more exposure and they’ve done quite a few things, but have been a little bit side railed by the recent events in Ukraine. I really would like to see a multicultural base where everybody has the opportunity to showcase their stuff and anybody can immerse themselves.”
Chris Rod was the head organizer for the festival, which began in Saskatoon last year.
Because of the great response last year’s event had, they decided to bring it to Humboldt this year.
“I think Filipinos would be in the top three of the biggest migration here in Saskatchewan or Canada,” he said. “We are very fortunate to have our culture still being practiced and we just wanted to come out and share it with the different communities out there. It really is an important part of us to be able to communicate and establish relationships with different cultures.”
Bryann Lopez, Loud Differences with Ian, Chris Rod and Kaycee, and Yssa Kapatid Band were just a handful of the Filipino community and festival members involved.
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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com
On Twitter @BenTompkins_8
