Bayanihan Cultural Festival On October 7 In Woodside, Queens

by Kobakila News

 

WOODSIDE, NY — The annual Bayanihan Cultural Festival is back to where it all began!

The Bayanihan Festival Steering Committee, the festival’s organizers, has announced that this year’s festival will be held on October 7 at the Bayanihan Community Center in Woodside, Queens, where it was first celebrated in June 2009. The celebration will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The change of venue is “due to the delay in granting permit for the use of Hart Playground by the New York State Department of Parks and Recreation,” the committee said in a statement.  Since 2010, the festival was previously held at the Hart Playground, a few blocks away from the Center.

According to Anne Beryl Corotan, one of the festival’s coordinators, despite this year’s change of venue, “some of the festival components, such as the interfaith ceremony, food, free immigration and legal consultations, free health screenings and interactive cultural workshop and performances” will still be part of the festival’s program. The festival’s theme, which is, “Building community. Celebrating diversity. Forging solidarity” remains as the festival carries out its objectives in serving the community.

“The true spirit of Bayanihan (communal unity to achieve a common purpose) must not be lost in the midst of these crises. It is all the more reason for us to come together and continue to serve our community even with minimal resources and unexpected circumstances,” said Julia Camagong, Co-Executive Director of Philippine Forum.

The Bayanihan Community Center was established in January 2008 as one of Philippine Forum’s most important programs.

The event, which is also celebrated during the Filipino American Heritage Month, will have various community organizations present to provide information on community initiatives, social causes and services. Some of the participating organizations and major community partners for the festival include The Nursing Office.Com, Bukidnon Kaamulan Association in America, BIBAK, Kalusugan Coalition, Kinding Sindaw, Anakbayan New York, National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON), Kabalikat Domestic Workers’ Support Network, People’s Organization for Progress (POP), Sisa Pakari Cultural and Labor Center, Frente Unido de Inmigrantes Ecuatorianos and many more.

“On the day of the 4th Annual Bayanihan Cultural Festival and even beyond, let us focus on bringing more awareness to the pressing issues of the day faced by our communities — the immigrant communities, Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike. These, in the first place, are the reasons why the Bayanihan Cultural Festival has been brought into fruition,” Corotan ends.

The Bayanihan Cultural Festival is an initiative of Philippine Forum, a not-for-profit community grassroots organization offering direct services to the Filipino, and the larger immigrant communities, in New York. The Philippine Forum strives to make Filipinos and Filipino Americans aware of their roots, conscious of their rights, and cognizant of their responsibilities as members of both the American and Philippine societies, and as citizens of the global community.

For more information or inquiries about the festival, please email bayanihan.festival@gmail.com or call 718-565-8862.

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