‘A personal source of joy’: Edmonton’s 8th-annual Filipino Fiesta

Edmonton hosted the eighth annual Filipino Fiesta this weekend. This year's guest cultures were the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities.

The 8th-annual edition of Edmonton’s Filipino Fiesta kicked off on Saturday as a weekend-long celebration of Filipino arts, entertainment and crafts.

The Lodge Conference Inn on Stony Plain Road was decked out in all the decorations and tradition of Philippine culture.

• Get the latest Edmonton updates right to your inbox

“With all new and developing Canadian communities, immigrant communities … We want to be in touch with our heritage, and we want to pass that on to our children and to the next generation,” said the festival’s cultural liaison Mila Philipzig.

“It’s a personal source of joy for me to see it grow every year, and then see people come back as well as meet more and more people.”

Each year, the festival hosts a guest culture as well. This year was Ethiopian and Eritrean communities as their celebration was postponed earlier this month.

“It’s learning about each other, you know. And it’s not limited to the Filipino community,” Philipzig said. “It’s just forming connections.”

The festival runs Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Both days feature live music around the clock, interactive activities, a vendor market and lots of good food.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg