2017 Piyesta Pinoy – Another Huge Success, Year four and stronger than ever!

2017 Piyesta Pinoy – Another Huge Success

Year four and stronger than ever!

Bolingbrook, IL — One of Chicagoland’s biggest celebrations of the Philippine culture returned to Bolingbrook for the 4th year on Saturday, June 10, 2017 and it was a huge success. An estimated crowd of about 7,000 came to join the Piyesta in spite of the very hot but windy weather. For the second consecutive year in Piyesta Pinoy Bolingbrook history, we had no rain. Thanks to the consistent prayers to St Clare by the volunteers. The weather cooled off later in the evening that brought in more crowd in time for a couple more hours of entertainment featuring two bands performing at Piyesta for the first time. Messiah’s Puzzle sang several Journey favorites and Kaleidoscope Eyes closed the evening with 45 minutes of Beatles hit songs.

 

“As Mayor of the Village of Bolingbrook for 31 years, I am honored to extend my personal greetings to my Filipino friends for a successful 2017 Philippine Independence Day Fest. The Filipinos play an important role in our community and continue to make significant contributions for the good of all our residents.” said Village of Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar. “Bolingbrook’s Piyesta Pinoy is an excellent vehicle for strengthening the sense of togetherness and sharing the spirit of fraternal kinship that Filipinos all over the world carry in abundance. It is in this same spirit that I commend the dedication and commitment of the men and women behind this event in their continuing efforts to preserve and promote the Filipinos’ proud and rich cultural heritage in Chicagoland,” said Consul General Generoso Calonge. A huge thank you to Village of Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar and the village staff, to Consul General Generoso Calonge and to our special guest of honor from the Philippines – Congressman Salvador Belaro Jr. for your welcome remarks, program book message and most especially for your presence to join our event.

 

“We would like to express our admiration and appreciation for the tireless efforts of Piyesta Pinoy Planning Committee, our volunteers, cooperation of various NFP organizations, sponsorship of our corporate groups, individuals, advertisers, media, food and booth sponsors and performers  to showcase our cultural heritage and traditions to strive for unity in the community and to share our moral values with our youth through community involvement in the celebration of our 119th Philippine Independence Day. We wish to extend our warmest appreciation to the Philippine Consulate General of Chicago and the Village of Bolingbrook for hosting and for their partnership.” said PACF President Adeline Fajardo.

This year’s festival included the inaugural Piyesta Pinoy Bayani (Hero) 5K (Run, Ruck, Walk) to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Bataan Death March and to honor the Filipino and American service members who sacrificed their lives during this tragic moment in Filipino-American history.

As in the previous years, the biggest crowd came during the TFC hour. Many thanks to The Filipino Channel for bringing celebrity actor/singer/composer Jericho “Echo” Rosales along with versatile emcee Gelo from the Bay area in California.

Announcing the Split-the-Pot raffle winners: 1st Prize – Tim Barron, 2nd Prize – Ely Natividad and 3rd Prize –  Ronnie Amiscaray. Part of the cash proceeds will be donated to the American Diabetes Association and the rest will go to PACF funds for cultural and humanitarian projects.

Festival organizer, the Philippine American Cultural Foundation, would like to thank our organizing partners and hosts – the Philippine Consulate General of Chicago and the Village of Bolingbrook. We also would like to thank our sponsors for their donations and continued support: Platinum Sponsors – The Filipino Channel, Three Horses Jasmin Rice; Gold Sponsors – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, LBC Mundial Corporation and Seafood City; Silver Sponsors – Allstate, Eva Air, InHome Personal Services, Mark A. Tan – T Capital, Salad Master/Triple A Health Venture,  Signature Event Designs, and Creative Imprints Plus; Bronze Sponsors –  Bolingbrook Bugle , Global Cargo Movers, Madrid Crost Law Group and Philippine Week Committee; Donors – Amita Health, E+O, Fiesta Market , Hong Ning, Magnolia, Nicor Gas, Valerio’s and Village Creamery. Maraming salamat to MegaScene, One Philippines, PINOY News, and VIA Times/CPR TV for media sponsorship.

Maraming salamat to our Hermano Mayor Dr. Nunilo Rubio & Hermana Mayor Dr. Elenita Rubio,Hermana Danny & Hermana Ditas Salonga, Hermano Gilbert Bermundo, Hermana Gloria Simon, Hermana Ella Basilio

Maraming salamat to our food vendors Kusinang Pinoy, Mang Juan, Mabuhay Restaurant, Manila Fiesta, Uni-Mart, Kitty’s Irish Ice, Seafood City and the concession stand at the venue, Bolingbrook Performing Arts Center.

Maraming salamat to our amazing performers: National anthem singers Emil Nicolasin and Louella Cabalona; Cultural performers – BIBBAK Illinois, Chicago Anklung and Rondalla Ensemble, Loyola Kapwa Cultural, PACF Performing Arts, UIC FIA Cultural,  Lane Tech, Philippine Dance Troupe of Fox Cities from Wisconsin and PASAC; Singers – James and Jannae Agena, Anna Nicolasin, Dragonheart Idols, Emil Nicolasin , Silayan Group, Alyssa Solomon, and David Wycoco; Dancers – Chicago Hawaiian Dancers, Hot Lips from Wisconsin and UIC FIA Modern;  DJ  Richie Gil and Rommel Gaspar; Musical Bands – Blue Marlin Band, Live Wire Band, Messiah’s Puzzle, Kaeleidoscope Eyes, Manic Museum Band and Samasama Project; and Emcees – Alpha Nicolasin, Lakhi Siap, Ma. Girlie Pascual, and James Delacruz.

Maraming salamat to the chefs of our Fil-Am Chefs Cooking Exhibition: Accomplished Fil-Am Chefs Marilyn McNabb, Chef Paul Guerrero and cooking coach Ren Mendoza are showcasing their own recipes. Special thanks to Donna Reyes and Rampelle Aguilar for facilitating and engaging the audience during the demonstrations organized by Mango Rice Productions, in partnership with the Philippine American Cultural Foundation (PACF).

Maraming salamat to providers of our children’s activities: Village of Bolingbrook Park District for the train ride and rock climbing wall, Fountaindale Public Library for the Book Mobile, Village of Bolingbrook Fire Department.

Maraming salamat to the 2017 Piyesta Pinoy sa Bolingbrook Committee who worked very hard since last year to make this year’s festival a huge success.: Overall Chair Ruben Salazar,  PACF President Adeline Fajardo, Cindy Lopez, Merle Salazar, Jan Paul Ferrer, Michelle Delson,  Rae Joyce Baguilat, Isabelle Cerdan, Romy & Tita Balcita, Pia Natividad, Ely & Evelyn Natividad, Anna Gina, Alpha & Emil Nicolasin, Lakhi Siap, Ms. Girlie Pascual, James Delacruz, Rome Nichols, Donna Reyes, Everett Icao,  Mark Tan, Allan Desiderio and the Security Team, Glenn Bermejo, Trista Maltizo, Rudy & Carmen Garcia, Philippine Nurses Association of Illinois and all the First Aid Team, Nell & Lain Frias, Iris Kay Strauss and the Videographer/Photographer/Social Media team.  Thank you to all our volunteers and unsung heroes and excuse us for not listing all your names. The successful operation of each area from souvenir program to communications, raffles, stage performances, volunteers, cultural activities, delicious food, first aid, and others made this celebration truly enjoyable and… the best ever.  It would not be humanly possible to orchestrate such efficient and meaningful activities without your help.

Lastly, maraming salamat to all our kababayans, families and friends who had attended this year’s festival! We hope to see you again next year! We hope that you will continue to join activities that promote our cultural heritage, traditions and pride as a Filipino American community.  Looking forward to your involvement and participation in our next Filipino community event.  MABUHAY!

Checkout our Facebook Page and Gallery for the 2017 Piyesta Pinoy Pictures