The economics of Taste of Manila

The economics of Taste of Manila

Huge turnout: ESTIMATED 110,000 to 200,000 each day

Wider and longer lanes of Bathurst St. jam-packed

By Veronica C. Silva

If foot traffic and long queues are to be the metrics, then the recent Taste of Manila street festival could be another successful event for the Filipino community in the Greater Toronto Area.

The four lanes of Bathurst St. north of Wilson Ave. were jam-packed with festival visitors, and long queues were seen among many of the almost 150 stalls of exhibitors and vendors, triple the number of stalls last year.

JERICHO ROSALES
(Photo: Larry Torres)

The second Taste of Manila was held last August 22 to 23 at the corner of Bathurst St. and Wilson Ave. in North York.

Like last year, the street festival featured the best of Filipino cuisine, culture and trademark warmth and hospitality. But this year, both the northbound and southbound lanes of Bathurst St. were closed to prevent overcrowding, which was experienced last year. The lanes closed stretched for 1.3 kilometers up to Laurelcrest Ave. compared to only 840 metres long last year.

Organizers initially said they were expecting 100,000 visitors this year, up from 65,000 estimated last year from an expectation of only 5,000. But Rolando Mangante, chairman of event organizer Philippine Cultural Community Centre (PCCC) said he told Toronto Mayor John Tory on Sunday that crowd estimate last August 22 has reached 110,000.

Mayor Tory and Ward 10 Councillor James Pasternak were guests in the morning of the second day, August 23, when Mangante estimated the crowd to have swelled to 200,000. It was also on Sunday when Filipino actor Jericho Rosales was special guest. Still, there were more visitors who lined up Wilson Ave., and there were long queues at TTC stops in the busy intersection.

One visitor even joked: “Is this EDSA Tres?” referring to the first two people’s revolts when people came out to fill up a major highway in Metro Manila to oppose and topple two seating Philippine presidents.

Objective: Showcase and promote Pinoy businesses

“The objective is to showcase and promote our businesses, especially here in Wilson and Bathurst (where) we have 42 Filipino businesses that’s why we are promoting Taste of Manila because this is our Little Manila,” said Mangante, chairman of PCCC, a not-for-profit group whose main objective in organizing the street festival is to set up a community centre in the Bathurst-Wilson area.

The PCCC was able to set up the community centre a few months after the first Taste of Manila last year. The community centre now offers a small office for use by Filipino groups and associations and provides a venue for projects with a Filipino youth group. Next in the plan is a project for Filipino seniors.

“We built this community centre to organize a youth alliance … and we will promote also (a project) for the senior citizens,” Mangante added.

For the group to realize this plan and to sustain its operations, this year’s Taste of Manila is bigger and more expensive for the exhibitors.

Organizers said they had to double the cost of stall rentals to ensure that they don’t make any out-of-pocket expenses like what they experienced last year.

“The return last year was negative because we had to spend more on the stage, on the barricades, tents, payment and food for volunteers, etc.,” said Joseph Franco, PCCC treasurer. “In totality (Taste of Manila 2014), we had a negative of $20,000. We didn’t expect ganun kadami tao, kaunti lang ang stalls (too many people; we had only a few stalls); we didn’t get a grant from the government.”

Like last year, PCCC officials said they didn’t get any government grant to organize Taste of Manila 2015. Yet, Franco said PCCC had to pay for operational expenses to be able to get a temporary permit from the city government. Weeks before the street festival, PCCC had to pay most of the following expenses: $5,000 for emergency services, $6,000 for private security, $8,000 for the police, $20,000 for the stage, $6,000 for the signs, and $44,000 for the barricades, among others. In all, Mangante and Franco said the event was estimated to have cost from $160,000 to $170,000.

Prices of stall rentals up by 50%

MANGANTE at the opening of Taste of Manila.
(PHOTO: ARIEL RAMOS)

Franco said PCCC had to increase the prices of stall rentals by 50 per cent, particularly for the prime locations in the street festival, like near the stage.

“If you ask us why the (prices) of booths are higher at this event, it’s because we want to sustain the operations because we cannot afford to lose another $20,000 for this event,” said Franco.

Stall rental fees are also categorized according to the product or services offered by exhibitors or vendors. For the wet vendors like food vendors, the fee was $2,400, and for exhibitors giving out flyers and offering products and services other than food, $600.

But even with the prices doubling, more exhibitors and vendors still came, some of them encouraged by what they heard and experienced last year.

Such is the case of Al Ballesteros, a newly minted entrepreneur who set up his own business only this year. Ballesteros is the founder of Authentic Pinoy, a brand of Philippine goods like T-shirts and caps.

Ballesteros participated in Taste of Manila last year as a real estate agent. Encouraged by the huge participation last year, he decided to set up his own business and rent his own stall this year. He expressed optimism in his first street festival participation and looks forward to other Filipino fiestas where he can participate.

For some exhibitors, Taste of Manila was more than about raking in profits. For other, it’s an opportunity to touch base with the Filipino community and bringing in tangible benefits is just the bonus.

Most of the vendors interviewed by the Philippine Reporter were confident of positive prospects in their bottom line. “Business is good,” that’s the general reaction they offer.

Taste of Manila was just one of several street fests that entrepreneur Brenda Inalbez has participated in this summer. For two days, she shuttled between Taste of Manila and the CNE at Exhibition Place where she also had a booth in the International Pavilion.

It is her second year to participate in Taste of Manila and her third in the CNE. Her motivation in selling Philippine products in street fests? “Ang makapagbigay ng kaunting kasiyahan sa ating mga kababayan (To give joy to our fellow countrymen),” she said. “Whether it’s negative or positive (about the street festival), I always support them,” she added.

Like last year, she said she’s expecting to earn “kaunting (small) profit” in selling Philippine-made handicrafts and fashion items in Taste of Manila. But it’s not all profit for her. In participating in Taste of Manila, she said she wants to support the Filipino community to show other communities how Filipinos come together.

Profit was also not the aim of insurance advisor Maria Abad in joining Taste of Manila. For the Sun Life Financial sales manager, street festivals like Taste of Manila are an opportunity to showcase to the Filipino community the products and services that Sun Life can offer.

“This (event) is good for the company; this is a good venue to find people (to tap as financial advisors),” said Abad. “Traffic is good to reach out to people to showcase our services.”

Jericho Rosales with PCCC Board of Directors led by chair Rolly Mangante.
(PHOTO: LARRY TORRES)

Food vendors

Food vendors had the most number of stalls this year, similar to last year. Aside from the regular food companies that lined up the corner of Bathurst St. and Wilson Ave., first timers who didn’t have a presence in the corner rented stalls.

It was the first time for Ernie’s Karinderia and Isinay Foods to participate in the 2015 Taste of Manila.

Isinay has a short-order store at Wilson Ave. near Lady York Ave. in North York. But Isinay’s Rosanna Lucas said she and her staff were glad they participated in Taste of Manila.

“It was worth it,” said Lucas of how business turned out for her over the weekend. She estimated that return on investment was at least 20 per cent. Aside from the financial gain, she said the street festival was an opportunity for her to promote her business. Isinay Foods specialized in noodles and barbecue flavoured with the Isinay culture. Isinay is a dialect in Nueva Vizcaya. Lucas said her ambivalent staff were excited about visitor turnout at their stall that they’re encouraged to participate again last year.

Business didn’t turn out well for Ernie Tanglao, who ventured into the food business for Taste of Manila but who regularly runs a hair salon on Wilson Ave. near the corner of Bathurst St. He said he miscalculated his food stock so he didn’t earn during the two-day street festival. But he said it was a lesson to learn from, and he is still interested in participating next year. As an entrepreneur in the area for the past 18 years, he said the Taste of Manila was something he and other entrepreneurs in the area have been envisioning.

“I’m happy with what transpired,” said Tanglao in the vernacular. “Para sa ating mga Filipino ito. Napansin tayo ng mga politico – na tayo ay may pagkakaisa …(at) maraming natuwa. (This is for us Filipinos. We were noticed by the local politicians – that we are united. And many were happy.)”

Post-event, Mangante said they learned many more lessons from this year’s event. Complaints about how the event was organized are normal, he said. One of the complaints is garbage management.
As to whether the event raked in profits for PCCC, Mangante clarified that the event was free, so PCCC, again, didn’t earn from the event. People think that PCCC earned from the event, but the event was free; we didn’t even get grants, he told the Philippine Reporter.

PCCF participated at the Taste of Manila Parade, Aug. 22