19 March 2015 - The 4th Philippine Fest Chicago (Piyesta Pinoy sa Chicago), held on March 15 at Navy Pier’s Crystal Gardens, was declared a success by organizers.
The afternoon event, presented by the Navy Pier in collaboration with the Philippine Consulate General and the Philippine American Cultural Foundation (PACF), involved the active participation of the Filipino-American community in Illinois.
This event is a part of the Neighborhoods of the World Program of Navy Pier from February 08 to March 29 to support Chicago City’s mission in providing cultural entertainment to the public. The Filipino-American community was represented for the fourth time at this annual event in Navy Pier, which is dubbed as the top entertainment and leisure destination in Chicago and the entire Midwest region with as many as 100,000 daily visitors.
In his welcome remarks, Philippine Consul General Generoso DG Calonge thanked all who came to the Crystal Gardens. He stated that Filipinos are a fun-loving people with lots of fiestas, and who are proud to be present in Navy Pier to show their culture and their heritage.
The afternoon event featured a display of Philippine arts and crafts, Philippine tourism and information materials, art workshops, performances of Filipino cultural dances in colorful costumes, rondalla music as well as Filipino folk songs, OPM modern and contemporary music by local Filipino-American talents. There was also food, arts and crafts vendors during the festival. About 2,000 people attended the event.
The support of the Filipino-Americans in Chicago on this occasion helped promote the Philippine’s rich cultural heritage to the American audience.END