Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Hyehwadong Filipino Catholic Community raises funds for numerous programs By John Redmond

The Hyehwadong Filipino Catholic Community (HFCC), held its fourth fundraising event at the Tongsong Auditorium in Hyehwadong on Sunday.

Beginning at 3:30 p.m., the festival was also a chance to showcase the community’s effort to put more emphasis on Filipino culture and values as shown and portrayed by the candidates.

Under the theme “Ginoo at Binibining Kalinangang Filipino 2011,” or “Mister and Miss Filipino Culture 2011” in English, the overall aim was to raise funds for different programs and outreach activities of the community such as hospital and medical assistance, scholarship programs, emergency deportations and other urgent needs and outreach activities of the Philippine Center.

The subtheme, “A Showcase of Filipino Beauty and Culture” revealed performances focused on the Filipino way of life showcasing dance, song and music, history and culture.

Regional costumes were paraded instead of the usual gown competition, featuring traditional Maria Clara (women’s traditional dress) and Barong Tagalong (men’s traditional dress) to highlight the characteristics of Filipino migrants in Korea and provide a venue for cultural sharing and interaction between Koreans and Filipinos.

The show, at a cost of 10,000 won entrance fee and lasting over three hours, proved to be a great success with a larger than expected crowd.

“We sold out all tickets and started to let the public in at half price,” said Emely Abagat, one of the organizers, to The Korea Times after proceedings.

“I don’t know how much we raised but I’m sure it was beyond our expectations,” she said.

The candidates were carefully screened by the committee and the community was consulted in publishing their names, photos and personal information in the Sambayanan, the official newsletter of the community.

The winners were Felipe Carlo Clarin and Anne Katherine Pranada.

Ginoo at Binibining Kalinangang Filipino, primarily a fund raising project organized by the HFCC was founded in 2008.

source: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2011/09/173_94673.html