Biggest Fiesta In America in two decades

Mark August 11 and 12 as red-letter days on your calendars. Those two dates are slated for Fiesta In America’s 20^th Anniversary and second decade of staging the biggest expo and cultural show of its kind on the east coast. On that weekend, the Trade Pavilion at New Jersey’s Meadowlands Expo Center is expected to overflow with export-grade goods from Cavite, General Santos City, Ilocos Sur, Leyte, Manila, Quezon, Naga City and Samar. Made in the Philippines and brought to Fiesta In America by micro, small and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) with support from the Department of Trade and Industry, these products are not available in U.S. stores. They represent the best of the country’s export industry. Visit the exporters’ booths. Sample their unique merchandise. Fill your bags with packaged food products, personal accessories, houseware, and hundreds of handicraft items.

Fiesta In America will be capped on both days by a swinging cultural show and live concert. Sing and dance along with superb local artists, Billboard Hot 100 idols Gary Lewis and the Playboys, as well as Philippine superstars Ogie Alcasid, Janella Salvador and Elmo Magalona.

Free informative workshops have always distinguished Fiesta In America from other Fil-Am events. To address online scams and other financial deceptions that can cause debilitating stress, workshops on how to identify and avoid fraud will be conducted by Alan Lai, Victim Advocate, through a major sponsorship by AARP, the Presenting Sponsor of Fiesta In America’s Total Wellness theme.

Free skin and bone density scans, vital-signs screenings for blood pressure and blood sugar level, and other assessments are in-store for health enthusiasts. They are components of the Total Wellness theme, and are sponsored by Hackensack Meridian Health and Hudson Regional Hospital. Free “Guide to the Market” workshops will also be held by Joseph Florio, Vice President and External Client Advisor at JPMorgan Chase, a new wellness sponsor.

Cultural eating is a key module of Fiesta In America’s Total Wellness theme. Seminars on healthy ancestral diets (practiced by the past three to four generations) will be facilitated by Meriterese Racanelli, MS, Food Scientist/ Nutritionist and Chef at Goya Foods, a Fiesta In America sponsor since 2016; followed by a lecture on Holistic Wellness by Dr. Laura Garcia, DNP, MSN, MAN, RN.

Returning to Fiesta In America this year as a sponsor is Mama Sita’s. Make it a point to visit their booth near the Food Court, enjoy the free food tasting, and discover why “Every drop, every ounce is authentic and Filipino.”

Savor tasty Filipino dishes from pansit to lumpia, from inihaw to dinuguan, and from kakanin to sorbetes at the native Food Court. If you have non-Filipino guests, food is the most pleasurable way to introduce them to the diverse flavors of Philippine culture.

And on Sunday, August 12, thrill to the pageantry of a costumed Santacruzan (complete with a Reyna Elena, an Hermano and Hermana Mayor, constantinos and dashing escorts) after attending the Holy Mass that starts at 10am at the venue.

Other sponsors include Asian Journal Publications, Philippine Airlines, TFC, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Department of Tourism, Belmont Hotel Manila, Savoy Hotel Manila, MX3, Hudson Toyota, Open Road BMW, LBC and Metrobank. Media sponsors include: Inquirer.net, Filipino Reporter, Filipino Express, Filipino Catholic, Fil-Am Who’s Magazine, OSM, and FilAm.net

To attend, exhibit, sponsor or advertise, call 212-682-6610. For details, email [email protected] or log on to www.fiestainamerica.com.

ADVT.