Filipino Fiesta draws 20,000
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
The throng around the bandstand was joyous, colorful and abundant.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
A crowd estimated at 20,000 packed Kapi'olani Park yesterday for the 12th Annual Western Union Filipino Fiesta and Parade — topping last year's turnout by some 5,000 folks, organizers said.
Abraham Hughes, 3, of Kalihi, was among some 20,000 people who came to Kapi'olani Park yesterday for the 12th annual Western Union Filipino Fiesta and Parade — about 5,000 more people than last year.
The daylong event celebrating the diversity and cultural richness of the Philippines featured folk dancers, traditional music, children's performances, martial arts demonstrations, food booths, cultural exhibits, an appearance by former Miss America Angela Baraquio, and plenty of games and giveaways.
Prizes included everything from roundtrip tickets to the Philippines to memorabilia signed by fiesta grand marshal and University of Hawai'i volleyball star Kimo Tuyay.
Josie Ventura of Diamond Head was thrilled to win a beverage cooler after a lucky spin on the wheel of fortune at one of about two dozen booths.
"Only this year is the first time I've won anything," said Ventura, who has attended every Filipino Fiestas since the first, in 1993.
Event chairman Bryan Andaya said eight booths representing the major regions of the Philippines were of particular importance.
"This year, the emphasis is really on our Cultural Village," Andaya said. "It's a snapshot of the macrocosm that is the Philippines."
Cultural Village booths were arranged according to geography, from north to south, and featured crafts, artworks and materials representative of each region.
Louie Funtanilla, who was helping to staff the Ilocos booth, said the idea was to entice people to visit the Philippines. But Funtanilla, 61, who lived the first 27 years of his life in Ilocos Sur before coming to Hawai'i, succeeded in enticing himself.
"I had hoped we could make people coming to this booth enthusiastic to go to the Philippines," he said, "although I myself was not able to visit there for the past 20 years. Being in this booth has made me feel homesick."
An hour before the fiesta began at 10 a.m., the parade — complete with floats, marching bands and costumed walkers — wound its way from Fort De-
Russy, along Waikiki's Kalakaua Avenue to end at Kapi'olani Park.
The fiesta was a fund-raiser for the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu, the largest Filipino center outside the Philippines.
Amy Agbayani, president of FilCom, said two goals of the center are to educate local Filipinos about their culture and to share that heritage with others in Hawai'i.
Filipinos are Hawai'is third-largest group, representing 14 percent of the population, Agbayani said, yet they are underrepresented in many areas of leadership. Changing that balance is a central aim of the fiesta.
"We want to show that we are part of the larger Hawaiian community," Agbayani said. "And we have some Filipinos who have emerged in the past weeks, such as Jasmine Trias and Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, that have focused attention on the community."
While the event centered on fun, food and entertainment, the fiesta showed a serious side as well. Several tents and tables offered information about issues such as domestic violence and health career opportunities, which are important to Filipinos in Hawai'i.
Traditionally, the fiesta has been a one-day affair. But Andaya said the 2006 event, marking the centennial of Filipino immigration to Hawai'i, might be expanded to two days, based on yesterday's turnout.
"It we can get the volunteers, we might be able to do a full weekend event," he said. "That would be a dream come true for us."
Reach Will Hoover at 525-8038 or whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com
