Fundraising efforts continue for Lapu Lapu festival victims one month after attack

Actor Larry Thomas serves soup during a fundraiser at Greens and Beans Deli, in New Westminster, B.C., on Sunday, May 25, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER — Efforts to raise money to support the victims of the attack on Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day festival are still underway one month after the vehicle ramming that killed 11 and injured dozens more.

Multiple fundraisers were held this weekend to support the families of those killed in the attack and those who were hurt.

In New Westminster, B.C., on Sunday, “Soup Nazi” actor Larry Thomas, best known for his role as a strict soup seller on the sitcom “Seinfeld,” served soup as part of a fundraiser at the Greens And Beans Deli.

A three-kilometre run was held earlier that day at the Toronto Zoo to raise money for United Way’s Kapwa Strong Fund, which offers grants to not-for-profit organizations supporting those affected by the attack.

And a tribute concert took place on Saturday in Surrey, B.C., hosted by the local Philippine Independence Day Society, which issued a statement saying nine Surrey families were impacted by the tragedy.

The annual festival had just finished on the evening of April 26 when an SUV rammed through the crowd, causing what has been called the “darkest day” in the city’s history.

Adam Kai-Ji Lo faces eight counts of second-degree murder and further charges are anticipated.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2025