First Filipino Canadian book festival set to launch in Vancouver

The first-ever Filipino Canadian Book Festival will be held in Vancouver this July and will include book sales, panels, workshops and performances. CONTRIBUTED

VANCOUVER — The first-ever Filipino Canadian Book Fest will be held July 12-14, 2024. The three-day festival aims to “empower, inspire and connect Filipino-Canadian communities through literature and art.”

It will be held at two venues – the Collingwood Neighborhood House and the Massy Arts Society.

“With the Filipino Canadian Book Festival, we’re carving out a space where our stories and voices can be heard loud and clear,” says co-organizer Nathalie De Los Santos.

De Los Santos is author of Over the Rainbow, Beyond the Sea, Alice’s Order and Hasta Mañana. She hosts the “Filipino Fairy Tales, Mythology and Folklore” podcast and is the creator of the bookstagram account PilipinxPages.

Other festival co-organizers are Dani Alcalde-Sidloski, manager of Massy Books, and Mia Bolaños, Filipino American writer, poet and cofounder of Sampaguita Press.

“[The festival] invites the Filipino community and the broader Canadian populace to delve into a literary and cultural feast that educates, entertains and enlightens. It is open to all who wish to explore and celebrate the rich heritage of the Filipino Canadian community,” she says.

“It’s about building bridges between generations and cultures within our community and beyond. This is a platform for dialogue, learning and growth.”

There is a celebration of Filipino Canadian books and writers this year as this festival comes at the heels of the recently concluded Salaysay Literary Festival in Toronto. It was organized by the Salaysay Collective, a group of Filipino Canadian writers.

Activities

In addition to book sales, a slew of activities is scheduled for the festival, including panels, workshops and performances.

Authors and artists will be discussing “everything from diaspora dynamics to the future of Filipino literature.”

There will also be “a bustling marketplace featuring Filipino-owned businesses, booksellers and artisans,” and “cultural performances that promise to enrich and entertain all ages.”

There will be an open mic, meet-and-greet and book signing with the contributing authors of Magdaragat: An Anthology of Filipino-Canadian Writing edited by edited by Teodoro Alcuitas, C.E. Gatchalian and Patria Rivera.

The publication includes poems, essays, short fiction, plays and speeches, showcasing a wide breadth of Filipino Canadian experience.

The festival will also bestow its first-ever CanDila Award to a chosen writer. The award is “to honor someone who is a voice in Canadian literature and is leading the way for our community; someone who creates opportunities for future writers and increases visibility for us all.”

Panels

Panels include “World-building and Cultural Research for Storytelling,” which will discuss the process of building intricate and believable worlds in fiction writing while balancing imaginative elements with real-world influences. Speakers include Tessa Barbosa (The Moonlight Blade), Samantha Garner (The Quiet is Loud), Roselle Lim (Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune)  and K.S. Villoso (Jaeth’s Eye).

In the “Writing Between the Lines” panel, Christine Añonuevo, Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio (Reuniting with Strangers), C.E. Gatchalian and Vincent Ternida (The Seven Muses of Harry Salcedo) will be talking about the ways in which cultural heritage shapes stories and how balancing multiple genres can create unique and compelling works.

Hari Alluri (Our Echo of Sudden Mercy), Sol Diana, Therese Estacion (Phantompains), Phebe M. Ferrer and Marc Perez (Dayo) will tackle poetry writing in “The Poetry Prism: Shaping Realities.”

Jim Agapito, Rina Garcia Chua, Chris Patterson/Kawika Guillermo, and Catherine Hernandez will share their thoughts in the “Makibaka! Maging Alamat! On Writing Revolution” panel.

The “Writing for Stage: Demystifying Playwriting and its Publishing Process” panel will include Davey Calderon, Karla Comanda, Kamila Sediego and Carmela Sison.

Visit filcanbookfest.squarespace.com.  Walter Ang is the author of Barangay to Broadway: Filipino American Theater. Available at Amazon, Bookshop and other online booksellers.