Jack Frost was nipping at the noses of people who came out to the Pilipino American Coalition and Kappa Psi Epsilon’s 15th annual Christmas Fest on Saturday. People came to Cal State Long Beach in front of the Health and Human Services building to support the club and sorority.
This year’s theme, like every year, was “Pasko Sa Aming Bayan,” which means “Christmas in our Town.”
“We just want to bring back the Filipino Christmas spirit,” said Camille Beltran, coordinator from University of California, Irvine. “I know that in the Philippines they have a really long celebration. The generation nowadays can get their culture washed out, and we bring this festival so they can see Filipino vendors, see traditional dancers and eat Filipino food.”
The audience complained about the cold and huddled together to gain warmth. However, the last performance of the night, by CSULB’s PAC Modern, warmed them up. The audience screamed manically and clapped for PAC Modern to perform, but instead of just modern dancing, they included participants who were a part of their week-long dance camp, PAC Camp.
People who also came to the event were able to see an art exhibit that hosted Filipino artists and Filipino-influenced art.
Around 5 p.m., nightfall came and the air turned cold. Attendees began to bring out their blankets and sweaters. The unfortunate ones who forgot to bring warm items had to buy some at one of the clothing vendors at Christmas Fest.
One of them was Fili-Islander Clothing Company. The clothing company sold a lot of Filipino apparel like sweaters, hats and T-shirts with the Filipino flag or Filipino sayings on them.
If the crowd became hungry, they were able to enjoy some Filipino and Pacific Islander food from participating food trucks.
Among them was Tapa Boy, where they served traditional Filipino breakfasts like Tapsilog and Tosilog. Lawrence Fama is one of the owners of the food truck, and he said that he decided to come out to Christmas Fest because his staff was filled with PAC members and they sought the truck out at a past event.
Christmas Fest also had a lot of performances going on. The audience was able to listen to YouTube artist Krystle Tugadi who had recently released her album. Her voice was like a soulful blend of Alicia Keys and Beyonce.
The audience was also treated to some dance performances by local dance teams. Many of the team members were 18-years-old and younger. The dancers rolled on the floor and popped their bodies like their bones were breaking.
For more information about upcoming PAC events, visit lbpac.com.