DAY OF FREEDOM: WFWP CELEBRATES PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE DAY IN LAS VEGAS
On June 2 and 3, WFWP Las Vegas joined the festivities of the Filipino community for the Las Vegas 4th Annual Fiesta Filipino "Community of One" to celebrate the Philippine Independence Day (actual date: June 12). In previous celebrations, the event was held for one day only, in a local park. Due to the immense success of those events, a passion was ignited in the community, and last year the organizers planned a two-day event, which built momentum for the fantastic celebration held this year at the Boulevard Mall West parking area along Maryland Parkway. Twenty thousand people were expected to pass through over the weekend.
The organizers—NaFFAA (National Federation of Filipino American Associations) is the largest Filipino organization here in Nevada. Through the hard work, dedication and commitment to excellence from the leaders, members and the volunteers, WFWP joined a united effort to showcase the genuine heart of the fastest-growing Asian group in the Las Vegas community. It was a joy for our WFWP LV Chapter to network with such a successful and memorable event for 2012.
We also enjoyed such amazing talent from our "kababayans" countrymen! Singers and dancers jumped on the stage to show off—from the youngest, a seven-year-old singer, to the oldest, an eighty-four-year-old dancer! But what caught the attention of everyone, especially the non-Filipino attendees, was the performance of our national dance called "TINIKLING," which involves two persons hitting bamboo poles on the ground and against each other in coordination with two or more other dancers while stepping over and in between the poles throughout the dance. (Unless you are a professional, please do not do this at home!)
As a representative of WFWP founder Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon here in Las Vegas, I found myself constantly reflecting on our mission to expand our WFWP message of the "logic of love"—and I have to say that our Filipino community understands this well. I wish that all our members nationwide could have been with us during the two-day celebration, and could have experienced a taste of the Philippine culture here in the desert of Las Vegas! I never could have imagined that an island nation could find such unity and joy in a desert community across the ocean!