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| Congen Catalla (second from left, front row) with other consulate officials and OFW leaders. |
An indoor celebration of Philippine Independence Day and a first-ever official participation by the Philippines in Hong Kong’s annual Flower Show will be among the big events lined up this year by the Consulate.
The information was disclosed by Consul General Bernardita Catalla during a talk with The SUN on Dec. 18 at the Consulate, when she also recorded a short Christmas message for the Filipino community.
Congen Catalla said that the Hong Kong government, through its Leisure and Cultural Services Department, has offered the use of Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wanchai for the annual celebration of Philippine Independence Day.
The indoor event to be organized by the Consulate will be held on June 25, a week after the Philippine Association of Hong Kong is set to stage its regular Independence Day offering for the community on Chater Road.
While it will not be the first time that an Independence related-event is staged at the stadium, it will be the first to be co-organized with the Hong Kong government.
Also in the works is the first-ever official participation by the Philippine government in the March Flower Show at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay.
“It will be the first time that the PCG will participate, and we have already asked our engineers to help conceptualize and build our booth,” said Congen.
For more than a decade, the Rizalista group led by Pieter Nootenbaum had taken part in the annual show that attracts tens of thousands of people from all over Hong Kong and abroad, but this will be the first time that the Philippines will have an official entry.
Congen said the Consulate’s booth will be placed at the far end of the exhibit, so as not to take attention away from the Rizalistas’, which has always been put near the entrance to the park.
Ahead of all these is the Philippines’ upcoming participation in the Chinese New Year parade on Jan. 28. The lively street parade which features colorful floats, marching bands, acrobatic performers and lively dragon dancers will this year be joined by Philippine dancers from the Kadayawan festival of Davao city.
Congen Catalla said more details of the upcoming events and other projects planned by the Consulate will be unveiled during her yearly briefing and reception for Filipino community leaders slated for the first half of next month.
