T he popular expression, "Tuloy po kayo," means among Filipinos “Welcome strangers, guests and visitors to our home and savor hospitality.” Yesterday, Sunday (July 11, 2010) the welcome mat was unrolled on a bigger crowd – the entire community – in a celebration of neighborliness and camaraderie, thanks to the hundreds of alumni and alumnae of 16 colleges and universities who pooled their personal resources to stage one of the biggest celebrations in Toronto. Meals, jokes and personal tidbits were shared as did food and drinks during the whole-day festivity. The highest-ranking Philippine diplomat in Toronto said it was the Filipino way of keeping tribal fires burning.

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SUMMERFEST PICNIC -- A SHOW OF FILIPINO HOSPITALITY

'Tribal Fires' Continue to Burn Among Filipinos in Toronto

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

T ORONTO - Filipinos celebrated their own diversity by a show of camaraderie through a slew of activities that typifies the famed Filipino hospitality, welcoming friends and strangers alike with oodles of food and inviting them to join in day-long fun games, sports, songs and dances.

Nowhere is the popular expression "Tuloy Po Kayo" (literally, please come in) more evident than in Sunday's community picnic held in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga by the graduates of the different universities and colleges in the Philippines who are now residents or citizens of Canada.

Young and old spent quality time with family, shared meals and jokes with visitors, while others took to the immense park and played traditional neighborhood games such as volleyball and tug-of-war that pitted one university group with another, reminiscent of the highly-competitive varsity games, only this time the atmosphere was friendlier.

"It's a way of keeping our tribal fires burning," said Philippine Consul General Minerva Falcon, the event's main guest, who admitted being "very thrilled" at meeting some of her Beta Sigma sorority sisters from the University of the Philippines.

It was differed from the usual Filipino festivity in that there were no commercial sponsors or booths selling wares. Individual alumni doled out from their own pocketbooks for food and drinks made available to any one and every one regardless of school affiliation. It was a hassle-free celebration of family, friendship and cooperation in an atmosphere of pure Filipino neighborliness.

O rganizers said the Sunday picnic or Summerfest, was the ninth in as many years and was begun by alumni/alumnae of the University of the Philippines and University of Sto. Tomas in Toronto. Over the years, more and more people from other universities participated, bringing the total now to 16 alumni-association members.

The gathering, said the Consul General, proves that happiness is not with wealth. "It's with friends," she quipped.

"Filipinos will always find a reason to party. I guess it's in our DNA. But it's a good way of keeping connected," Ms. Falcon explained. "This is really a nice way to get together".

The gathering vastly differed from the usual Filipino festivity in that there were no commercial sponsors or booths selling wares. Individual members of alumni associations doled out from their own pocketbooks for food and drinks made available to any one and every one regardless of school affiliation.

The end result was a hassle-free celebration of family, friendship and cooperation in an atmosphere of pure Filipino neighborliness.

The only fly in the ointment was the presence of an overzealous lady who went around with a plastic bag soliciting donations for her "Kalayaan" group. It wasn't clear if she had been allowed to do it, or if she did it on her own.

"Life is a rah-rah-rah and a go-go-go in Toronto. This picnic gives us the chance to unwind and relieve stress," said Beth Vasquez, a UP alumna who now works as executive recruiter in Toronto. "It's kind of going back to your roots and talk in Tagalog," she added.

Her friend Liza Villanueva, a graduate from UP Los Baños, sees the picnic as an effective approach to social networking.

"The picnic provides an opportunity to re-live the past," explained Benji Abis, alumnus of both UP and Ateneo who manages his own insurance agency.

He said it was the only occasion for him to get together with co-alumni and bond with them.

"The (sports) competition is just an excuse," he laughed, indicating it was more the desire to reestablish professional connections and old friendships than what was stated in the program.

UST Alumni president Norma Layno, currently administrative director of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, summed it up succinctly: "It's not about winning, it's about camaraderie".

The concept behind the picnic is to have a community salo-salo, said Priscilla Cayford, immediate past president of the UST group.

"We agreed that we will have no sponsors, no merchandise selling, no politicians, no religion, no commercial entities, no fund-raisings. Just us and our families," she explained.

Sunday's event was just one of the many festivities in the Filipino community of Toronto. In the neighbouring city of Brampton, another group had its own celebration called CaraBram. On July 24, another big feast is scheduled at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for the Mabuhay Festival. # # #

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