‘Our hearts are still broken’: Opposition remains as plans for Lapu Lapu Festival announced

Nearly a year after the devastating attack at the Vancouver Lapu-Lapu Festival, Filipino B.C. says this year’s event will look much different.

Just shy of the anniversary of the devastating attack at the Vancouver Lapu Lapu Festival, Filipino BC says this year’s event will look much different.

But the decision to move ahead comes amid calls for the festival to be paused.

Lapu Lapu Day of Togetherness will take place April 19, with organizers saying unlike previous years, the event in 2026 will focus on reflection and communal healing.

“Lapu Lapu Day of Togetherness was thoughtfully programmed to reflect the various needs of community members, recognizing that grief is not linear and healing looks different for everyone,” reads a statement from Filipino BC.

The event will be held at Il Centro Italian Cultural Centre, which offered the space free of charge.

“We want to provide an area where people feel safe, secure and can reflect and have the opportunity to move forward as best they can,” said Mario Miceli, executive director of the cultural centre.

“No one will ever forget the victims of this difficult day and the families still living with it,” he explained.

April 26, 2025, turned into a day of horror at the festival when a vehicle plowed into a crowded street of festival goers. Adam Kai-Ji Lo is charged with 11 counts of second-degree murder and 31 counts of attempted murder.

“Our hearts are still broken. We are still grieving,” said Roan Hidalgo, who was at the event just before the tragic events unfolded.

“I had to go through a grieving process myself, even though I didn’t know the victims directly,” he said.

Hidalgo started an online petition, now with more than 1,000 signatures, asking that the event be paused for 2026. Though he would like to see more done to remember the victims, he is now mostly accepting of the planned event.

“There is some push to cancel it entirely, but I believe this is a healthy compromise,” he said.

Filipino BC said that in shaping this year’s event, organizers “have considered various perspectives and feedback that have been shared publicly and within the community.”

Still, some survivors remain opposed and are calling for a solemn commemoration and demanding financial accountability and transparency over donations following the tragedy.

Filipino BC said that additional details on a memorial gathering taking place later in April “will be shared soon.”