Let's Celebrate!

Welcome to the 36th annual Pagdiriwang Philippine Festival in Seattle, June 4 and 5, 2022.  This year as in 2020 and 2021, Pagdiriwang will be held virtually due to the pandemic.  Pagdiriwang commemorates the 124th anniversary of Philippine independence.

 

Pagdiriwang is the largest Filipino art and culture festival in the Pacific Northwest.  In celebration of its 35th anniversary, Pagdiriwang’s chosen theme is “The Sarimanok Soars”. In Philippine mythology, the Sarimanok is a legendary bird or mythical creature of the Maranao people of Mindanao. It is a symbol of good fortune and often referred to in conjunction with royalty. The logo of the Filipino Cultural Heritage Society of Washington (FCHSW) is an artistic contemporary stylized rendering of the Sarimanok.

 

We would like to acknowledge the City of Seattle, the Seattle Center and 4Culture for their support of the Festal Program composed of 24 ethnic festivals of which Pagdiriwang was a foundational member. We are grateful as well for the selfless service of the volunteers who make Pagdiriwang possible. FCHSW is an all-volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to nurturing and proudly expressing the finest and all that is beautiful and enduring in the Filipino, a unique blend of Asian and Western cultures profoundly producing a wealth of cultural heritage that must be shared with as much of the world as possible.

 

While festivals offer a deeply satisfactory experience to the attendee when experienced in person, a virtual presentation provides unique opportunities that will be part of our festival going forward.  We are hopeful and plan for the return to in-person format in 2023.

 

We are fortunate to have excellent artists this year, headlined by Philippine-based classical guitarist Rafael Ronquillo. We have a segment on Words Expressed led by Bob Flor; Musika at Iba Pa organized by Teza Mendoza; Photo Travelogue by Leia Maminta Smith who will also perform as a singer of the Quarentados group of the Philippine Science High School batch 1982; teaser trailers for Sining Kambayoka, the official theatre group of the Mindanao State University; human interest ohoto exhibit of rural life by Jimmy Javier. We will also be treated to performances by our excellent mainstay artists such as the Filipinas Performing Arts of Washington State (FPAWS), the SAYAW of FASA at the UW. The ever popular art exhibit is led by Grandier Bella, Pagdiriwang’s overall web designer and liaison with Seattle Center. 

 

We have so much to offer for an immersive experience of Philippine culture and heritage!