{"id":754,"date":"2018-05-22T17:09:57","date_gmt":"2018-05-23T00:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/?p=66095"},"modified":"2018-05-22T17:09:57","modified_gmt":"2018-05-23T00:09:57","slug":"in-pictures-inaugural-filipino-festivals-draws-thousands-to-silverado-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/food\/in-pictures-inaugural-filipino-festivals-draws-thousands-to-silverado-park","title":{"rendered":"IN PICTURES: Inaugural Filipino Festival Draws Thousands to Silverado Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Photos by Asia Morris.<\/em><\/p>\n

The inaugural Long Beach Filipino Festival\u2019s only hitch was that it was too packed.<\/p>\n

Thousands attended the highly-anticipated event to experience the art, culture and food of one of the city\u2019s largest Asian American populations, blowing its committee members\u2019 expectations clear out of the water.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just a big X factor,\u201d said the festival\u2019s executive director, Anthony Formoso, whose background includes over a decade of experience helping organize the Annual Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture (FPAC) in Los Angeles. \u201cWe knew that we were going to build it, that it was going to be made, but we didn\u2019t know that people were going to actually come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Headliners included rapper and lyricist Ruby Ibarra<\/a>, DJ and vocalist Gingee<\/a>\u00a0and local outfit Bootleg Orchestra<\/a>. Bootleg Orchestra\u2019s performance was one stop on their mini tour in support of the Stop the Killings Campaign by the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, while Ibarra celebrated the release of Nothing On Us: Pinays Rising and the accompanying music video at the Roxie the following day.<\/p>\n