Filipino Night celebrates culture with sold-out event in St. John's after 7-year hiatus
CBC
After a seven-year hiatus, hundreds came together once again to celebrate their culture and heritage during Filipino Night 2024.
The event was organized by the Filipino Association of Newfoundland and Labrador and held in the gym of East Point Elementary in St. John's.
Association director Romel Maligaya says after months of hard work, it was great to see so many attend.
"A lot of us are excited because we have a lot more newcomers nowadays, so they have not witnessed any of this," said Maligaya.
"Most of us have seen this a few times, but a good number of us have not seen this, so they're excited also."
While the first Filipinos arrived in the province in the 1950s, said Romel, the association wasn't formed until 1967. Its annual Filipino Night was celebrated until the group's 50th anniversary in 2017 but paused ever since — until now.
Featuring dances, songs, and educational short films about the Philippines, as well as food and games, it is held to coincide with Philippine Independence Day on June 12.
For Filipinos in the province, said Romel, it crucial in providing a sense of togetherness.
"I'm pretty sure most Newfoundlanders will do the same thing also when they are away," he said.
"When the newcomers come here and then hear about this event, they're quite excited because now, they will experience, at least even for one night, how to feel at home again, with their folks, seeing people in our traditional costume, eating our own food and hearing our music."
Eric Elli has been a member of the association since 1993, when he moved to St. John's. As its former president, who's still involved as adviser today, he has seen its mission change.
"Initially, the goal of the people forming the association is just for camaraderie because ... when you're away from your home, you tend to gravitate toward each other with the same culture," he said.
Aggressive patients and lack of security are making nurses feel unsafe in a rural Western Manitoba emergency union, says the Manitoba Nurses Union.
Saskatoon resident Delynne Bortis knew her commute to work Tuesday morning would be particularly difficult.
WARNING: This story contains details of abuse and intimate partner violence:
The amount of money it takes for people to earn a living wage has increased across the province, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.
A Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will be sentenced in the new year after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges following a joint investigation that involved the London, Toronto and Waterloo police services.
Students at UPEI have let their student union know what they want from the province this fiscal year, and those priorities are reflected in a 2024-2025 advocacy document brought to the legislature on Wednesday.
Larger communities in the N.W.T. will soon see a boost in their territorial funding to maintain infrastructure and deliver services — like water and waste management — but the increase still falls short of what communities need.