Last October 16, Von, Elise, and I attended the launch of the Pinoy Fiesta 2017 at LuLu Hypermarket in its Murabba branch. Von attended as the representative of the Embassy, while I tagged along as I was curious about the event which ads I have seen in my Facebook feed. We also brought Elise along as we had an appointment with her pedia later in the evening. I was surprised with how big the event was. We thought Von was just attending a simple ribbon-cutting ceremony. To our surprise, we were given a red carpet treatment with all the executives of LuLu. There was also a big Filipino crowd waiting for the start of the program. There was a real fiesta vibe in the atmosphere.
After the tour and a short press briefing with LuLu executives, it was time for the much-awaited program. Students of different Philippine International schools paraded on stage wearing these absolutely lovely Filipino traditional costumes. The kids were adorable! Aftershock Dancers, an all-male Filipino dance group also rendered a dance performance to "Piliin Mo ang Pilipinas". Props to the LuLu Filipino staff who worked overtime to arrange the displays and organize the program. Overall, it was an awesome night spending time with the Filipino community. My only gripe? After the event, some of the executives and mall security escorted us directly to our car and didn't leave us until we have left the building (the diplomatic way of life, I guess? For security reasons?). So we didn't get to buy those Philippine mangoes which I was dying to get my greedy hands on and the ube cake which Elise tasted and loved. By the time we returned to LuLu last Oct. 21, most of the stocks were gone, including the mangoes. Huhu. I guess our other kababayans didn't waste time and made sure to also stock up on those Pinoy goodies. Hehe. Anyway, I am definitely looking forward to next year's festival and would know what to do next time. :) * * *
Read: My other articles about our diplomatic life here in Riyadh: House-Hunting in Riyadh: Fantasies and Realities Welcome to the Kingdom The Start of our Diplomatic Journey
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