SLIDESHOW: Filipino Festival
Jeff Mace's dish of simmered
rice noodles, shredded
chicken and sautéed vegetables came with a wholesome side of culture at the Filipino
Festival.
"It's a way to travel without traveling,"said Mace, who couldn't get
enough of the aforementioned pancit and was kept from wife Shannon's creamy maja blanca custard
only by his coconut allergy.
"You get a lot of knowledge out
of this,"said Mace, who learned of
the festival from co-workers at Parham Doctors' Hospital. "And you
can tell me anything while I'm eating the food."
Festivalgoers at Our Lady of
Lourdes Catholic Church in Henrico County feasted on savory
chunks of chicken or pork Adobo,
lumpia (spring rolls), empanadas
and Halo-halo, a delectable concoction of tropical fruit, milk and
crushed ice, topped with leche flan
and purple yam.
Yesterday's festival, the fourth at
the Woodman Road church, was expected to top last year's attendance
of 4,300.
It featured musical performances,
an array of folk dances and a Cañao,
the traditional Igorot celebration by
descendants of that Filipino mountain tribe. A photo exhibit from Seattle of Igorot people was on display, as well as the wares of about
20 vendors.
"It showcases the best of the Philippines,"said festival co-chair Rosario Igharas.
Occupying a prominent spot near
the dining tents was a slow-roasting
lechón, or suckling pig. The pork
served up at the festival in prior
years had been cooked off-site.
Lechón is a staple at Filipino celebrations, said Alvin Ho, who described its preparation:
Early yesterday, the 65-pound pig
was slit open, placed on a spit and
packed with salt, sugar, garlic, black
pepper, bell peppers, lemon grass,
spring onions and bulb onions. It
was stitched up and brushed with
soy sauce as it rotated for 10 hours
over a bed of charcoal.
When festival co-chairman
Thomas Schaaf learned of this elaborate preparation, "I said, "Why
don't we show everybody?'"
A whole pig dripping fat as it
twists over a fire is a sight and
aroma that either kills the appetite
or whets it. For most folks yesterday, it was most likely the latter, as
five pigs were expected to be devoured.
But that was only a tiny slice of
Filipino culture served up. Cultural
exchange was most evident among
the young people.
Filipino children "get an opportunity to take pride in their parents'
culture, their heritage,"Igharas
said. And noting that 40 non-Filipino children participated in the
various dances, she said: "We're
teaching respect for cultural diversity in our youngest parishioners."
Igharas' household is one of more
than 60 Filipino families who belong
to the church, which has become a
hub of the local Filipino community.
"Our Lady of Lourdes Church is a
very welcoming parish,"said Igharas, who joined the congregation in
1992. "They have been a gift to us.
And we're really grateful they've
allowed us to be a gift to them."
Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804)
649-6815 or mwilliams@timesdispatch.com.
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