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| Tuesday, Jul 1 2008 5:57 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Jul 2 2008 8:05 AM
Just 30 miles north of Bakersfield is a culturally rich and enchanting place where “UFO” does not mean “flying saucer” and a weekend can last a whole month.
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Jessica Dauz performed in costume at the 2006 Miss and Mister Philippine Weekend Pageant in Delano.
In Delano in July, every weekend — and even a weekday or two — becomes a showcase for a different aspect of the multifaceted Philippine Weekend, a monthlong celebration of Filipino cultural pride that dates back to 1975.
There are beauty pageants, a grand parade, basketball and volleyball tournaments, a traditional food cookoff, dancing and singing competitions, religious activities, games and more.
The whole community gets involved, including the “UFO,” or United Filipino Organization, a local high school student club that promotes Philippine culture, according to 16-year-old Chelsea Patricio, a UFO member who will be a senior at Delano High School in the fall.
Patricio is also the coordinator of the Philippine Weekend’s “3-on-3” Youth Basketball Tournament.
“It’s tradition and it’s also a way to get our culture out to the public,” Patricio said about the festival. “To open it to everyone, to invite them and celebrate in our culture.”
Celebrations begin Saturday evening with the Santacruzan Presentation Ball at the Filipino Community Hall, where local young ladies will be introduced as the “Reynas” or “Queens” who will march in the grand parade and the Santacruzan Procession the last Saturday of the month.
Following Filipino Catholic tradition, each Reyna represents an aspect or virtue of the holy women of the Bible, especially the Virgin Mary and “Santa Elena,” or St. Helen, who is believed to have found the cross and nails of Jesus’ crucifixion while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land some 325 years after Christ’s death.
ROOTS
The 2008 Philippine Weekend is themed “One People, One Heritage...Building Our Future.”
Begun more than three decades ago as a basketball tournament to instill camaraderie among Filipinos born in the United States and those hailing from the old country, Philippine Weekend has evolved into a sort of local homecoming celebration for Filipinos near and far.
Non-Filipino attendees to the festival can enjoy exposure to the rich, centuries-old culture that has flourished in the myriad-island archipelago surrounded by the Western Pacific and the South China Sea.
Delano’s Filipino and business communities work hard to ensure the Philippine Weekend tradition lives on.
‘A GREAT CHAIRPERSON’
It costs anywhere between $25,000 to $30,000 each year to put on the monthlong festival, said 23-year-old Christine San Juan, returning chairwoman of the Philippine Weekend committee.
“We rely heavily on local business donations and all the water and soda we sell in the park,” she said, referring to Cecil Avenue Park, which is the focal point of the many celebrations that happen, especially during the Barrio Fiesta, a food, entertainment and culture extravaganza reserved for the last weekend of the month.
San Juan has just finished a one-year master’s program in accounting-taxation at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, paid for by her new employer, PricewaterhouseCoopers. She will start working with the accounting giant’s tax division in San Jose in September. The company delayed her starting date, she said, “so I could finish my Philippine Weekend obligations. It’s my last year as the chair.”
She said leading the Philippine Weekend organizing effort for the last two years has given her plenty of knowledge she’ll be able to use on the job. “Just learning to deal with people and learning how to be a leader, it’s certainly taught me some skills that I can take into the office setting,” she said.
Delilah Mascarinas, secretary of the festival committee and director of the grand parade, said this about San Juan: “She’s young but she’s very aggressive and she’s open to new ideas. She’s been a great chairperson.”
GO & DO
WHAT: Philippine Weekend, a multifaceted celebration of Filipino pride and culture held in Delano.
WHEN/WHERE: Throughout the month of July as follows (addresses of the different venues appear at the bottom):
• 6 p.m. Saturday — Santacruzan Presentation Ball at the Filipino Community Hall.
• 7 p.m. July 12 — 2008 Miss and Mister Philippine Weekend Pageant at Delano High School Auditorium.
• 5 p.m. July 18 — “3 on 3” Youth Basketball Tournament at Princeton Street Elementary School.
• 5 p.m. July 19 — Tiny Tots Pageant at the Filipino Community Hall.
• 5 p.m. July 25 — Pork Adobo Cook Off at the gazebo of Cecil Avenue Park (contestant arrival at 4:30 p.m.).
• 9:30 a.m. July 26 — Philippine Weekend Grand Parade beginning on on Main Street and Ninth Avenue.
• Sunset, around 7:30 or 8 p.m., July 26 — Santacruzan Procession at Cecil Avenue Park.
• All weekend July 26-27:
- Barrio Fiesta at Cecil Avenue Park (opening ceremony is at noon July 26). The Barrio Fiesta will include such diverse events as sports, dancing and singing competitions, food stalls, live entertainment and games for children.
- Basketball Tournament at Delano High School Boys Gym.
- Bingo at Delano High School Cafeteria.
Venue locations:
• Cecil Avenue Park, corner of Cecil Avenue and Norwalk Street.
• Delano High School, 1331 Cecil Ave.
• Filipino Community Hall, 1457 Glenwood St.
• Princeton Street Elementary School, 1959 Princeton St.
Information: Because of the large number of events — some of which involve an admission or entry fee — the public is encouraged to visit the Philippine Weekend’s official Web site, www.philippineweekend.com, for the “2008 Schedule of Events” and the contact phone numbers of the different activity coordinators.