The Filipino community, along with local residents, came together on Saturday to celebrate the 127th Philippine Independence Day at Suncatch Plaza in downtown Morden.
A great day to celebrate
With the event starting at noon and running into the evening, organizer Jewel White was pleased with the weather, the program, and the turnout.
"I think aside from the food, which everybody loves, they also enjoyed the program. The fashion show was a big hit. The talent of different Filipinos, not just from Morden, there were Filipinos from Winnipeg and also Morris, who performed tonight. So, I think overall, the music, the entertainment. I think everyone loved it."
As the evening went on, the crowd grew.
"There was a big turnout. We started at noon with vendors. This year, we added non-food vendors as well. There's a plant vendor there. She was selling a lot of Filipino trees as well. And then, there's also the village store for the second time and the bakery that just opened in Winkler."
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Support from the whole community
While there were many from the Filipino community at the event, many other people came to celebrate as well.
"I really appreciate the locals showing up here. They were here at noon as well, buying our food, and I was like, 'Wow.' They don't know what it is, but they're adventurous souls. They decided they want to try it."
"It matters to us."
Jewel was pleased everyone came out to support the community and grateful to host the celebration.
"I've been wanting to have this event since I moved here in 2008, and I was like, 'We need to make sure everybody knows our independence story.' We colonized for five centuries. So, Filipinos know about colonization. It matters to us."
