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Proceeds from PhilFest 2001 will help the Philippine community build a 14,300-square-foot center that will showcase performing and visual arts.
By JACKIE RIPLEY
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 6, 2001
KEYSTONE -- Bamboo music provides the back beat this weekend as the sweet scent of Spanish custard mingles with the aroma of roast pork along a grassy field on Nine Eagles Road.
It's fiesta time.
For the sixth year in a row, 10-acres on Nine Eagles near Race Track Road will be transformed into a Philippine barrio festival with colorful costumes, entertainment and food.
"People come from all over the country," said Claire Ick, former president of Philippine Cultural Foundation Inc. "We had about 11,000 people last year."
PhilFest 2001, which runs Friday through Sunday, celebrates not only the end of the Spanish-American War, when the Philippines became a colony of the United States, but also the near completion of the Philippine Cultural Foundation's new cultural center and library.
"The walls are up and the roof will soon be up," said Ick. The $1.3-million center is scheduled to open in September.
The three-day festival is the foundation's largest fund-raiser, benefiting a 14,300-square-foot center that will showcase Philippine performing and visual arts.
The arts center, to include a 9,900-square-foot exhibition and convention hall, will feature rotating exhibits, concerts and other cultural programs. It was made possible, in part, by a $500,000 state grant, which was matched by the Philippine Cultural Foundation.
"We have a very cohesive community," Ick said. "The leaders of this organization are just so gung ho."
The Philippine Cultural Foundation, with more than 3,000 families on its mailing list, is an umbrella organization for 13 Philippine associations throughout Tampa Bay.
The property also features an outdoor theater and three pavilions, where Philippine artists will entertain during this weekend's festival.
This year's headliner is Janet Clark, a Philippine recording artist from Nashville who sings contemporary country music. Clark performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Three Philippine American bands will play dance music, starting Friday at 5 p.m. Folk dancing groups will also entertain.
"The public is invited for a pageantry of the various races that have left their mark in this culture," Ick said.
The Philippines was a territory of the United States from 1898 until it was granted independence in 1946. This weekend, the PhilFest property will be decorated to reflect the island's combined culture of Hindus, Dutch, Chinese, English, Polynesians, Malaysians, Portuguese, Spaniards and Americans.
PhilFest 2001 will be from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. today; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets at the gate are $5.
- Jackie Ripley can be reached at (813) 226-3468 or ripley@sptimes.com.