Wind, rain fail to dampen PH Day bash in Mississauga

Kim Chiu brings sunshine to Mississauga’s Fiesta ng Kalayaan. PHOTOS BY MARISA ROQUE

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Gray skies and pouring rain did not deter Filipino revelers from enjoying Fiesta ng Kalayaan, featuring homegrown and imported Filipino talents, to mark the Philippines’ 117th year of freedom from Spanish colonization.

Vendors of Filipino food and drink lined the square and the aromas of home cooking fed everyone’s nostalgia trips from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., on Saturday, June 27 at Mississauga’s Celebration Square.

Diehard Kim Chiu fans Joy Tropia, Phoebe Dolores, Jane Tropia and Sam Florendo waiting for their idol.

Philippine arts and crafts and intricate lace and beadwork elicited admiration from visitors, but the rain caused vendors and gawkers to scramble for shelter inside the Mississauga’s government buildings on City Centre Drive.

The annual event’s organizers include the Kalayaan Cultural Community Centre (KCCC), Culture Philippines of Ontario (CPO), Fiesta Filipina Dance Troupe, and Kalayaan Filipino Cultural Organization (KFCO).

Alma Garrido, originally from Legazpi, Bicol, came all the way from Hamilton, Ontario to cheer for her daughter, Shy, one of the singers at the event.

Entertainment was constant and world class: Kalayaan’s Rondalla soldiered on, and Fiesta Filipina’s lithe and graceful dancers wowed the crowd, making celebrants forget the whipping wind and the driving rain.

Filipino children did their parents proud by singing the Philippine National anthem in Pilipino to start the day’s events.  Voice talents from the Greater Toronto Area, and from as far as Hamilton, regaled the crowd.

Kim Chiu, the Tsinita Princess for whom everyone braved the rains, finally made her appearance in late afternoon, singing from the open-air stage.  She capped the day’s festivities signing autographs and getting her photo taken with her loyal fans in the City Centre auditorium.

This year’s major sponsors of Fiesta ng Kalayaan include ABS-CBN, TFC, the City of Mississauga, KPMG, World Vision, PAL, MyRemit, and the Trillium Foundation of Canada.

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