Pista sa Nayon 2016

Pista sa Nayon 2016

IN MONTREAL:

By Joyce Valbuena

When you are living abroad, a fiesta at the park offers a great opportunity to discover the rich heritage of one’s home country. In many major cities around the world where there is big population of Filipinos, a fiesta is an annual event we Filipinos look forward to go to.

In Montreal, every third Sunday of July is an ideal opportunity to picnic on the beautiful McKenzie Park. Situated in Cotes-des-neiges neighbourhood where many of the Filipinos live, the McKenzie Park is a popular gathering place for picnic, playground and leisure among Filipinos.

In a crowded Sunday afternoon, it wasn’t difficult to spot a kababayan that you probably don’t see too often in a big city like Montreal. The Pista sa Nayon has always been the biggest gathering of Filipinos in Montreal every year.

Last July 17, several Filipino restaurants set up their own booths so that everybody can enjoy Philippine cuisine. On a hot summer day, halo-halo and sago-gulaman are best sellers as well as barbeque and fishballs.

Different associations also decorate their booths and would have plenty of food to offer to whoever visits them in the stall. Various groups would also perform folk dances, songs and games. This year, the preliminaries of the Filipino-Canadian singing contest were the highlight of the fiesta.

There were also Filipino entrepreneurs selling Philippine-made products which always attract non-Filipino guests. Other groups also take this opportunity to distribute brochures to introduce their organizations to potential members or simply to disseminate information about Philippine issues. And for some individuals, this is an affair where they can proudly wear Filipino costumes and take pride of their region.

This annual outdoor festival is organized by the Filipino Association in Montreal and Suburbs (FAMAS).