PIDC Salo-salo with caregivers

PIDC Salo-salo with caregivers

TORONTO–June 14, 2008 (Saturday) is the Philippine Independence Day Council of Toronto annual picnic. This will be held at Earl Bales Park, located at the corner of Bathurst Street and Sheppard Ave West, North York.

This event is part of the 110th Anniversary of Philippine Independence Day events. The theme this year is to honour our early and modern-day heroes. We therefore salute our compatriots Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW’s) particularly the Live-in Caregivers in Canada as among our many modern day heroes.

This event is attended every year by more than 2,000 participants. It is the largest Filipino-Canadian gathering in Canada, Filipinos being the fouth largest ethnic group in Canada.

The fun begins at 10 a.m. and continues non-stop till sundown. The fun part refers to upbeat performances by a good mix of home grown artists of modern and cultural persuasions.

A centre stage will be set up to showcase the awesome talents that we have. Also the suspense-filled annual volleyball tournament is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. The PIDC Volleyball Cup is at stake and as always will be hotly contested. Tug -of-War, the ultimate test of mass strength and teamwork is slated as well as the split-second chomping game of watermelon eating, face painting for kids, ping-pong challenge, giveaways from picnic sponsors, a parade of around the park showing association colours to mention just a few among the other fun activities.

In attendance will be our ambassadors of goodwill: Winners of PIDC Little Miss Philippines, Miss Philippines, and Mrs. Philippines. There will be fun for the whole family.

Of course let’s not forget, this is a salu-salo: of food and story-telling, of ideas and life experiences, of competitive games and tests of strength. Food is abundant. Food sampling (patikim naman) of exotic originals from Aparri to Bicol to Sulo brought by the numerous Fil-Canadian organizations from the different regions of the Philippines is always satisfying to the palate. We are talking about serious chow here: agahan, tanghalian and merienda.

PIDC is calling all organizations and companies who will make a difference in the status of caregivers in Canada.

Let us all show our support to our caregiver community by joining them in this celebration. We should link arms with our brothers and sisters on their fight for a safe and better living condition in their workplace as well as to advance their status in Canada.

Please contact the following persons for more details about picnic games and other activities, how to register your proposed performance, and donor/sponsorship opportunities:
Pete Mauricio, Picnic Chair 905-897-8406 mobile: 647-686-5179; email: pmauricio@sympatico.ca
Imie Belanger, Picnic Chair 416-835-7012; email: imiebelanger@yahoo.ca
Jun Enverga, President PIDC 416-284-2810; email: pidctoronto@gmail.com
Please visit at www.pidctoronto.com for more information about upcoming events

(PRESS RELEASE)