Ottawa Filipino festival postponed in wake of Vancouver attack
Fun Philippines Ottawa Food and Music Street Festival was meant to launch May 17 along a one-kilometre stretch of Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill, but organizers decided to postpone the event days after a car-ramming attack at a Filipino street festival in Vancouver left eleven people dead and multiple others injured.
"It made us pause a little bit to think about how we wanted to proceed," said Philip Mendoza, chair of the Philippine Legacy and Cultural Alliance, which has helped run the Toronto edition of the festival since 2019.
This was to have been the inaugural event in Ottawa.
When organizers initially raised the idea of postponing the festival, Mendoza said the response from vendors and partners was mixed. Ultimately, the team decided it was best to hold off. Their announcement came last Friday.
We're still reeling from how to process it. - Aimee Beboso, Migrante Ottawa
Mendoza said the "difficult decision" was based on two factors: Organizers wanted to make sure their festival was safe, and they wanted to find a way to honour the victims of the Vancouver attack.
"Our community is still grieving," Mendoza said. "We wanted to make sure we do this right."
'Better to err on the side of caution'
Some in the local Filipino community are disappointed that the festival has been postponed.
Radio host Dan de Castro said he was looking forward to attending the event, and said the decision "saddens" him.
"This is the first [time] ever that we're having this type of street festival," de Castro said.
Despite his disappointment, de Castro said he understands why organizers are being cautious. Since the Vancouver attack, he's been hearing concerns about public safety from Filipino-Canadians.
"While this [would] bring us together [to] enjoy our culture, our music, our food, there is still apprehension," he said.
Aimee Beboso chairs Migrante Ottawa, the local branch of a Canadawide alliance that provides support for Filipino newcomers.
Like de Castro, Beboso said she's disappointed the festival won't go ahead as planned, but said holding off is the right thing to do.
"It's better to err on the side of caution … because if something happens, we can't go back, right?" Beboso said. "We don't have a time machine."
Beboso also highlighted the need for sensitivity after the incident in Vancouver.
"We're still reeling from how to process it," she said.
Strengthening safety
In the meantime, Mendoza said organizers will work with the city and Ottawa police to strengthen security so they can eventually hold the event in Ottawa. The goal is to find a balance between "feeling safe but not feeling caged," he said.
Organizers have been considering whether they should fence off the event, install concrete barricades and increase police presence.
Ryan Perrault, the city's general manager of emergency and protective services, said in a statement: "The City's Special Event Advisory Team remains ready to assist the organizers should they choose to move forward with the event in the future."
Fun Philippines Ottawa hasn't set a new date for the festival yet. When it does happen, Mendoza said he hopes it brings people joy.
"Filipinos like to celebrate, like to party, and that's the energy we want to bring," he said. "We want to show how we celebrate our community, and that's one way of honouring these folks as well."
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