110th FILIPINO INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATED

PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATED
by MassComm Specialist Seaman Shannon L. Burns, Tropical Times Correspondent

Island residents celebrated PilipinoIndependence Day last weekend with a CulturalNight in the Island Room, an island-wide picnicat the Fleet Recreation Area, and a parade.The Pilipino Independence Day Committee(PIDC) planned the events with the help of manyvolunteers from various departments around the activity.The Cultural Night featured many traditionaldances Filipinos perform at many of their culturalcelebrations.O n e o f t h e d a n c e s p e r f o r m e d i s c a l l e d“Habanera De Jovencita” which is performed bya group of young women at a wedding or a debut.“I’m happy with the dancers. They did agreat job and did not forget their steps,” saidRosalie T. Gallosa, Overall Chairman for SpecialPrograms for the PIDC.The parade featured seven floats, six ofwhich were entered in a Best Float Contest. Firstplace went to the DGM21 float. The Ilocano Associationfloat took second and the Sacred HeartChapel float came in third place. The parade also featured nine foot demonstrations,eight of which were entered in the BestFoot Demonstration Contest. The winner was theD G M 2 1 f o o t d e m o n s t r a t i o n . S a c r e d H e a r t Chapel came in second place and Ilocano Associationwas third. For the Pilipino community, the festivitiescelebrating Pilipino Independence Day are very special because they are far from home.“The celebrations here are very importantbecause it helps the Pilipino community feel alittle closer to the Philippines and the family theyhave there,” said Leo Tamisen, PIDC Chairman.American service members also participatedin the Cultural Night and parade as they joinedin the festivities.“It was so important to include the Americanand the British because Philippine culture hasbeen influenced by so many other cultures, and also embraces or interacting with the American and British cultures,” said Richard G. Soriano, Parade Chairman of thePIDC. PIDC wants to express their thanks to allwho helped in the celebration, like the Seven DegreesSouth Café staff, who prepared the foodfor the Island-wide Picnic.“We want to extend our heartfelt gratitudeto all who helped and for their unselfish dedicationand support as well as the island’s populationfor taking the time to celebrate with us,”commented Soriano.