Filipino community celebrates Lapu Lapu Day in Vancouver

Filipino BC’s Lapu Lapu Day ’25 Block Party kicked off in Vancouver’s Sunset on Fraser neighbourhood Saturday morning, featuring performers, food, a parade, and local vendors.

The day is is one of the biggest celebrations in the Philippines, and this is the second year it is being celebrated in Vancouver.

“Lapu Lapu is our first Indigenous hero in the Philippines who won the Battle of Mactan against [Portuguese explorer Ferdinand] Magellan, pushing Spanish colonization,” said event director Joe Tuliao.

“So we take this day very seriously to celebrate our culture, but most importantly, our resilience and perseverance.”

Tuliao says this year the organizers collaborated with Hogan’s Alley, a non-profit group that works to highlight the presence of Black history in Vancouver and B.C.

“This is a really cool collaboration that we get to offer this year, and in terms of having Black food and culture integrated into our booths and also in our music festival …showcasing beautiful Black Canadian artists integrated with our beautiful local talents here in Vancouver,” he said

This year, two members of the Black Eyed Peas — Apl.de.Ap and J. Rey Soul — are the headliners. Other performers include musicians, cultural showcases, and dancers.

It’s a great day for foodies as well, Tuliao says.

“If you’re familiar with lumpia, yummy spring rolls, crunchy spring rolls, or ube, which are those purple yam desserts, expect to smell this fragrant food around the whole market,” he said.

Tuliao says Filipinos make up one of the biggest diasporas in the region.

“It’s been shown through data that the Filipino community has been growing for decades here in Vancouver, in the Lower Mainland,” he said.

“Experiencing [Lapu Lapu Day] last year for the very first time, witnessing thousands of Filipinos come through that I didn’t get to see before, it really just shares this sense of ‘Kapwa,’ which is a shared humanity.”

The Lapu Lapu Day ’25 Block Party runs from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. Saturday in Vancouver’s Sunset on Fraser neighbourhood.

— With files from Michelle Meiklejohn.