BoniFest all set for Nov. 17, T.O. City Hall

BoniFest all set for Nov. 17, T.O. City Hall

TORONTO–An event celebrating the life and historical contribution of Philippine hero Andres Bonifacio will feature works by Filipino Canadian writers and artists, and a presentation by an award-winning Filipino journalist and 2019 Marshall McLuhan awardee Patricia Evangelista.

The event will be held at 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 17, 2019 at the Toronto City Hall Council Chamber and Members’ Lounge.

The Andres Bonifacio Festival, or BONIFEST for short, honours the founder of the Katipunan, the revolutionary organization that toppled the Spanish colonial rule that lasted 333 years. Bonifacio was born on November 30, 1863 in Tondo, Manila and died on May 10, 1897.

BONIFEST will also feature the launching of the poster The Struggle for Philippine Independence, a brief account composed of 15 historical dates and periods and their significance in the Filipino people’s resistance against Spanish colonialism, American imperialism and Japanese invasion, from 1571 to 1946. The poster is the product of research and a series of discussions conducted by the Filipino Canadian Writers and Journalists Network (FC-WJNet).

Organized by FC-WJNet and co-sponsored by the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada and the PLUMA writers collective, BONIFEST will have as main speaker Ms. Patricia Evangelista, the recipient of the 2019 Marshall McLuhan Award, a program of the Canadian Embassy in Manila in partnership with Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility to award outstanding journalists in the Philippines. Ms. Evangelista is a multi-media journalist for the online news organization Rappler.