SAN FRANCISCO — The Filipino American Arts Exposition (FAAE) invites the community to virtually join San Francisco’s 27th Annual Pistahan Parade and Festival.
Traditionally held at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco each August with over 80,000 attendees in person, Pistahan has represented the largest celebration of Filipinos in the U.S. This year, Pistahan has been reimagined as a virtual festival, an online cultural experience, and a global celebration of Filipino culture and cuisine.
Moving the parade and festival into virtual formats is in accordance with local public health guidelines and ensures the public’s health and safety amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 Pistahan Virtual Parade and Festival will take place online at www.pistahan.net, streaming live on Facebook and YouTube, starting on Saturday, Aug. 8 and running through Sunday, Aug. 9 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific Time. Pistahan Together @ Home aims to raise funds to support the ever-growing demand for senior and youth services provided by FAAE, West Bay Pilipino Muti-Service Center, and United Playaz for the Filipino community.
This year’s Hermana Mayor is Marjan Philhour, a small business owner, working mom and San Francisco Board of Supervisor hopeful who currently serves as senior advisor to San Francisco Mayor London Breed.
“Over 26 years, the Pistahan Festival in San Francisco has blossomed into a thriving platform that showcases the diversity of the Filipino community in the United States,” said Al Perez, president of FAAE, the event producer of the celebration. “While we are saddened we will not be able to come together in person for our annual celebration for the first time in 27 years, we will embrace this challenge as an opportunity to create new experiences for discovery, connection and positivity. This year’s festival theme is ‘One Community: United in Hope and Healing.’ We look to Pistahan Together @ Home as an opportunity to broaden awareness of Filipino heritage and traditions and extend the celebration of Filipino community, culture and cuisine to new communities across the globe.”
“We’ve launched Pistahan Together @ Home as a creative response to bring Pistahan virtually to you at home with an online parade, performances, cooking demos, tech talks and many more activities,” said MaryJane Cordova Ly, festival manager of Pistahan. “Our team is coming up with really amazing and inspired ways to showcase Filipino art, cuisine, music, dance and traditions, and provide space for visibility and representation. With our first-ever virtual festival, we are committed to bringing to you a community-driven event that creates meaningful engagement and participation by Filipinos in the diaspora, creates a platform for all to discover Filipino culture and heritage, and brings wholesome entertainment and joy.”
Pistahan 2020 will feature an online parade, performances, cooking and art demos, tech talks, arts and crafts, a film festival and many more in Art, Culinary, Dance, Entertainment, Health, Heritage, Innovation and Sports. Support local Filipino businesses with its pop-up food court and sari-sari marketplace.
Full programming details will be shared in the days leading up to the festival on Pistahan’s website (www.pistahan.net), Facebook (facebook.com/pistahansf), and Instagram (Instagram.com/pistahansf).