Growing Filipino success

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This article was published 28/08/2022 (1316 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Purple beer, noodle battles and a spring roll eating competition mark the beginning.

This weekend hosts the second in-person Kultivation Festival — and the first to fully run its course, given nothing is paused today.

“My heart is so full,” said Karla Atanacio, an organizer of one of the Filipino-led festival’s events. “Everybody’s smiling, everybody’s having fun, and that’s ultimately… the goal.”

She’d just wrapped up moderating a business panel discussion. Filipino entrepreneurs shared their journeys with a crowd of roughly 30 people in Osborne Village Saturday.

On a counter near Atanacio were cans of halo halo beer, which One Great City Brewing Co. made in homage to the Filipino dessert.

Tiki cups sat on tables — a reminder of the festival’s Friday night drag tiki bar.

“(This festival) gives us the opportunity to not be described into a box,” Atanacio said. “Every Filipino is doing amazing things, and they’re being Filipino in their own way, even if that’s not traditionally what it looks like.”

Juan Barachina worked his way through the room, switching between groups to network during the festival’s business event.

The 23-year-old came to support his friends, who were panellists.

“I love it. I think it brings the community together,” Barachina said. “It’s really, really educational and… motivating to us.”

Entrepreneurs spoke about their role models, motivations and hurdles.

“(There’s) a lot of self-doubt, so seeing people having the same struggle or the same stuff happening to them, it’s motivating to me,” Barachina said. “If they can keep pushing, I can too.”

Allan Pineda, Kultivation Festival’s executive director, believes this year’s events are just the beginning.

“Not a lot of people know,” he said of the festival, which came together in roughly a month.

Organizers are envisioning a bigger future for the Filipino-led extravaganza. Pineda said they’ve started planning for next year’s Kultivation.

Jackie Wild, the Manitoba Filipino Business Council’s president, is among those dreaming of a permanent Filipino hub in the city.

“It would be really great to see a Filipinx district in our community at one point,” Wild said. “I feel like that’s a huge opportunity for us as a community to come together.”

Manitoba is home to the most Filipinos per capita in the country, according to Statistics Canada’s 2016 census. Ethnic information from 2021’s census isn’t yet available.

Pineda expressed a similar vision of a Filipino district earlier this month.

“We’re just super blessed to be around so many smart, talented, wicked cool young people,” Wild said. “(They’re) keeping us on our toes and making sure that we are thinking ahead, as far as what we can offer to the next generation.”

Marc Pinton, 15, visited the Tyndall Park Community Centre midday Saturday for Kultivation Festival’s youth forum.

A group of his peers — all young Filipino entrepreneurs — shared their experiences of growing businesses. Pinton knew of several of them through Instagram.

“It makes you want to learn how and why they started, and what their thought process is,” he said, adding he’s interested in creating his own business.

Kultivation Festival partnered with the Tyndall Park Community Market, a weekly occurrence with food trucks and vendors.

“For the last few months, (Kultivation Festival has) just been in my head,” said Lou Alarkon, who organizes the market. “This is sort of like our… resounding comeback.”

The festival first launched at Garden City Shopping Centre in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic ended things early.

Organizers offered online events during the pandemic before launching this weekend’s festivities. Events on Sunday include brunch at The Good Will Social Club and an evening noodle battle at Khao House.

“Being a Filipino in the community, and being around the area, it’s kind of nice to see (Filipino culture) showcased in this way,” said Alvin Diaz, a festivalgoer.

Antoinette Baquiran began volunteering with Kultivation in its infancy.

“It’s kind of a mini-celebration. Not only for us, but also for us to share with everyone,” Baquiran said. “There’s such a successful and a diverse palate of people in our community that can do a whole bunch of things.”

A full list of events is on Kultivation Festival’s website.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com