PhilFest 2011

Filipino culture invaded the festive grounds of the Philippine Cultural Enrichment Complex for three exciting days for the 16th annual PhilFest 2011. Everything native to the Philippines converged with food, entertainment and exhibits to the delight of the Tampa Bay community.



The long traditional gowns of the Philippines adorned the stage with graceful Filipinas. The Grand Flores de PhilFest Parade soon followed with beautiful Munting Reyna's circling the Philippine Village with a crowd of envious onlookers. Call it a celebration of a long standing ethnic traditions.



Filipino culture also includes the plethora of culinary delicacies. My personal favorite and the exclusive "food of the gods" is the delicious Carioca. Consider it fried doughnut balls on a stick with an ever so sweet glaze that will make you beg for more. It is also an effective bribe for out of control children.



The ever so dusty and dirt filled Philippine Village is replaced by thousands of square feet of smooth and clean concrete. Kudos to the Philippine Cultural Foundation for this very welcome addition to the annual Fiesta. Crowds of anxious people looking for the next Filipino delicacy will no longer have the ominous dust trail behind them.



The PhilFest 2011 video is shot with the Canon EOS Rebel T3i/600D. Paired with the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens and the Zacuto Z-Finder Pro optical viewfinder, the 1080p Full HD footage was edited with Apple Final Cut Pro.



The still photographs of PhilFest 2011 was captured with the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV with the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L and EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II zoom lens.

You can view more images in my PhilFest 2011 Gallery.



Yes, my newborn daughter Serena only slept and cried through this glorious event. Ripe and sweet yellow mangoes did not even appease her.



Crispy Lechon, lumpia shanghai, pancit and halo-halo will have to wait until next year's PhilFest 2012. I will be there with mouth wide open and maybe the next latest Canon HD DSLR such as the soon to be Canon T4i/700D.

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***UPDATE*** Here is the link to PhilFest 2012 with updated pictures and videos.

PhilFest 2010

My daughter joined the PhilFest de Flores Parade along with many other "Munting Reyna's" in the 15th Annual PhilFest 2010. Fifteen years is a long time for the Bayanihan Arts and Events Center to host the festival like atmosphere of Filipino culture and traditions.



I remember at least thirty years ago, the small booth representing the Philippines in the St. Petersburg Bayfront Center. My parents were active members of the Filipino American Club of Pinellas County and participated in SPIFFS every year. It was not long before the Filipinos of the Tampa Bay area had their own place to gather and celebrate ethnic traditions.



First it was my niece, then my sister in laws and now it is my daughter parading around in her gown with her hair all done fancy. I am really not sure what my daughter thinks of all this fanfare. The "little peaceful queens" took turns displaying themselves to the crowd with their escorts by their side. I was positioning myself in an unobstructed vantage point to get the shots of the miniature royalty walking down the stage.



The "stage" portion of the event was followed by a parade around the festival grounds. With mobile arches in hand, proud parents and family members escorted their "queens" around the perimeter of the cultural center and eventually back to the stage.



Now to the real issue at hand during the event was when do we eat? Lechon,pancit,lumpia shanghai,halo-halo and the ultimate carioca dessert only began the list of Filipino delicacies at the event.



Besides the carioca, my daughter had her eyes set on the kid's arcade and gift shop. You know, the gift shop full of junk prizes you get in a Cracker Jack Box. It maybe worthless to me, but it is a treasure box of gold to my kids. To each his own.



Hopefully by next year's PhilFest, my daughter will soon outgrow the "princess" phase of her life and move on to bigger things like American Idol!

You can check out the rest of the pictures in the PhilFest 2010 Gallery.