Caps 50th year of Filipinos in Manitoba

WINNIPEG – The Philippine Heritage Council of Manitoba (PHCM) topped off its year long celebration of 50 years of Filipinos in Manitoba with a Filipino Lantern Festival held on December 5, 2009 at the Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba (PCCM).

The UM Sigaw entry won first prize. The winning lantern (parol), dubbed Peace be with You, was created by UM Sigaw and painted by Veni Aragon. The winning parol used cardboard as its base and recyclable paper, e.g newspapers, flyers, scrap paper. The parol’s tail was devised from green soda bottles filled with eco- friendly bags and an empty bag of flour. According to the UM Sigaw handout that describes the concept of their entry: “To incorporate the theme of being traditionally Filipino, the centres of the parol consist of the Philippine flag. Both centres also consist of our main theme, which is peace. We chose to put Jesus in the centre of our parol... holding up the peace sign... so as they say, Peace be with you.” UM Sigaw is the University of Manitoba Filipino Students Association. The celebration was a fitting end to this year of celebration, honouring the fruitful 50 years of Filipino immigrants in Manitoba.

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