23 July 2010 - The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong mounted a two-day extravaganza entitled "Hou Yeh Pinoy!" (in Cantonese, "Hou Yeh" may be roughly translated to "very good") to celebrate the 112th Anniversary of Philippine lndependence in the Central Lawn of Victoria Park, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong on June 12-13.
The celebrations kicked off with the Consulate General holding a reception for Hong Kong government officials and members of the consular in Victoria Park on June 12.
Guests were treated to traditional Philippine cuisine prepared jointly by the reputable Philippines' Via Mare and Hong Kong's Conrad Hotel.
Classical musical performances from the Deverall children and the Zuniega Trio from the Philippines provided light entertainment for the guests.
Midway through the reception, guests were ushered to participate in the official launching of the Philippine Expo at 12 p.m. through a traditional Basagin ang Palayok (Hitting the Pot).
Held on June 12-13, the Philippine Expo was participated in by over 50 exhibitors from the fields of education, tourism, real estate, food, finance, telecommunications, manufactured products and services sector in the Philippines who created showcases for the Hong Kong market.
Philippine food, music, dances, games and cultural shows provided the backdrop to achieve a true fiesta atmosphere.
In cooperation with a popular youth-oriented radio show, Campus Radio of the Metro Broadcasting Corporation, a musical competition was held which brought together youth bands from Hong Kong's secondary schools in a friendly musical bout amidst a Philippine atmosphere in the afternoon.
Over 20 bands submitted their sample demos through the radio show. Of this number, eight promising bands were invited to the showdown in Victoria Park. The band Santiago emerged as the grand prize winner.
The Philippine Association of Hong Kong (PAHK) also organized an lndependence Day Ball in the evening of June 12 to celebrate the important occasion and raise funds to support the urban renewal projects of the Gawad Kalinga Foundation in the Philippines.
Guest artists from the Philippines including Ms. Kuh Ledesma and the up-and-coming La Diva serenaded and entertained the guests.
On June 13, a colorful Parade of Festivals marked the second day of celebrations with 17 festival contingents and over 2,000 parade performers.
The parade commenced from the Southorn Playground in Wanchai to Victoria Park in Causeway Bay.
To jumpstart the parade in the Southorn Playground, a Catholic Mass was officiated by Bishop John Tong of the Hong Kong Catholic Church, Fr. Emil Lim, SVD of the Chaplaincy of Migrant Workers and Fr. Don Rollon, SVD.
Among the line-up of festivals were the Higantes of Rizal, Mangyans of Mindoro, Lantern Festival of Pampanga, Sandugo of Bohol, Pandanggo/Oawasiwas of Bulacan, Ati-Atihan of Aklan, Kaamulan of Davao, Moriones Festival of Marinduque, Sinulog of Cebu, Dinagyang of Iloilo, Penagbenga of Benguet Province, T'nalak of South Cotabato, Yakan of Zamboanga-Basilan, Flores de Mayo and the Kadayawan Festival.
Filipino associations and various spectators were invited to participate in playing Philippine sports and games or Palarong Pinoy such as bunong braso, patintero, shato, limbo rack, tumbang preso, sipa, among others.
The Philippine lndependence Day Organizing Committee and the Philippine Consulate General also partnered with Via Mare Restaurant and Conrad Hotel of Hong Kong for a Philippine Food Festival in the latter's Garden Cafe which ran from June 3-17.
Conrad Hotel's buffet dining outlet featured authentic Filipino cuisine on its lunch and dinner menus. Three chefs from Via Mare created the menus and participated in preparing several signature Filipino cuisines for the Conrad Hotel booth in the Philippine Expo.
A cultural show capped the activities as various Filipino community groups performed Filipino dances and showcased distinct regional festivals.
A highlight was the culmination of the cultural show competition among Filipino community groups in Hong Kong which was represented by the Guiling-Guiling Festival of the llocos region for Luzon, Sinulog Festival of Cebu for the Visayan islands and the Singkil by the Mindanao Federation for the southern regions of the Philippines.
The events were attended by over 5,000 spectators of various nationalities and served as an open platform for Filipinos to showcase the diversity of their culture, brands and services.
The Consulate General was able to organize the events in coordination with the Philippine lndependence Day Organizing Committee (PIDOC) and the Philippine Association of Hong Kong (PAHK). END