‘Kawayan’ on Yonge Street

‘Kawayan’ on Yonge Street

The “Longet Street in the World” will be the site of the first Philippine Parade on Yonge Street as Filipinos WAVE their flags and cultural dancers and revelers sway to the drumbeats of the Ati-Atihan drummers and soot-covered festival ‘warriors’. Curious onlookers and festival patrons alike will converge along Yonge Street from Gerrard moving towards the much talked-about Filipinos Making Waves Festival at Yonge-Dundas Square. The festival fever is hot as community organizations and volunteers are pouring in to join this colourful parade of ethnic costumes, music and dance on foot.

The Ati-Atihan group of the United Aklanon Association of Toronto will once again attract the Sunday tourist crowd in downtown Toronto and lead a contingent of dancers, fashion models and beauty queens, celebrity guests, and a most vibrant mix of Filipino youths, seniors and members of the LGBT community. The stretch on Yonge Street from Gerrard to Dundas will be closed to traffic for the Filipinos Making Waves Parade on Sunday, August 16, 2009 from 11:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m.

Since the inaugural festival in August 2007, the Filipinos Making Waves Festival has attracted amazing Filipino artists and talents who are making waves around the globe. This year’s entertainment line-up will feature the “Global Filipino” in action and the “Sing Galing” talent search brought international attention from Filipino talents from as far as Germany. According to Teresa Torralba, the Festival’s co-founder and overall director, “We will forever keep a global theme in all our events. After all, it’s one of the reasons we called our festival as such! All these artists and talents make every Filipino very proud!”

The Philippines made waves as the “Texting Capital of the World” so let’s all text our friends to catch the waves on Aug 15 & 16 and invite them to a festival we can all be proud of. Philippine cuisine, a mixture of Asian & European dishes, will be another feature at the Festival food booths. Ethnic booths will feature Philippine arts and crafts, as well as products from our friendly sponsors.

Come! Join us at the Yonge-Dundas Square on August 15 & 16 for a weekend of non-stop entertainment, shopping and fun! After all…admission is FREE!

(PRESS RELEASE)