While the majority of party-goers were in St. Pete this weekend for the Grand Prix, I was stuck behind a booth at a
Tampa’s annual Philippine celebration– PhilFest– takes place at the Bayanihan Center (Long word? Google it up then!) where an often lonely clearing of trees the size of a football field is transformed for the weekend. More than a dozen vendors line the field and sell a collection of Philippine food– not a huge variety though. There’s lots of biters (copycats). Scattered througout are more vendors selling jewelry, the Philippine channel, clothes, etc. At the center are a vomit of chairs which face the direction of the stage– the heart beat of the festival.
So besides eating and checking out booths that sell stuff you most likely won’t buy, it’s one big hangout. Okay– the stage always has someone performing on it, but honestly it’s difficult to follow. There’s plenty of singers because Filipinos really love to sing. There’s several cultural performances. There’s lots of “talent” that goes onto that stage that you just politely watch and bite your tongue.
Perhaps it’s because I’m not that old– I’m not!– but the Hip-Hop Revolutions segment of
Click on my pictures to see my PhilFest time, but I warn you, most pics are smiling poses.