Filipino Food and Culture Day in Vilnius, Lithuania
April 27, 2024 – IOM Lithuania (International Organization for Migration) hosted the first major event organized by the Filipino community in Lithuania, the Filipino Food and Culture Day, initiated and organized by Merienda – Filipiniečių Užkandžiai/Filipino Snacks – A Taste of Filipino Flavors, with the help and support of the IOM/Migration Center
The Filipino Food and Culture Day marks the final celebration of the Filipino Food Month in Lithuania. Filipino food month or FFM is a month-long celebration held annually in the Philippines and in many countries around the globe (USA, UK, Australia, Netherlands, Belgium and many more) since 2018, and it is initiated by many Filipino food enthusiasts and restaurant owners.
This event welcomes not only Filipinos here in Lithuania, but more importantly, many locals and immigrants, as it aims to promote Filipino cuisine, food, and flavors through games, films, and a food fair. Philippine cuisine is more than just food – it represents the cultural pride and identity of the Filipino people!
It was truly a fun-filled day, which showcased Filipino hospitality, talents, and patriotism. The participants tried our varied and delicious Filipino food!
The event was held on the 27th of April, 12:00 – 17:00 at the IOM Lithuania/ MiCenter – Jasinskio 16, Vilnius, Lithuania.
The schedule during the event was as follows:
12:00 – 17:00 – Food Fair
12:45 – 13:00 – Welcome speech
13:00 – 14:00 – Films:
🎞”The ultimate guide to Filipino food”
🎞 “Southeast Asia’s Most Unappreciated Cuisine”
14:00 – 14:30 – Song numbers
14:30 – 15:30 – Filipino parlor games
15:30 – 16:30 – Karaoke contest
17:00 end of the event
We had special guests during this event. First of all, the Head of IOM Lithuania Mr. Eitvydas Bingelis was present during the event, and he spearheaded the meeting with our guest of honor, The Ambassador of the Philippines in Warsaw, Poland, Her Excellency, Leah M. Basinang-Ruiz, who has been active in her duties since December 2018. Ambassador Leah was accompanied by her Cultural Officer, Ms. Chloe Silverio.
In addition to giving a warm speech about the significance of the Filipino Food Month, Ambassador Leah expressed her genuine happiness to meet the Filipino community in Lithuania. Ambassador Leah and Ms. Chloe both had a private meeting with some members of the Filipino community as well.
The participants during this event, both foreigners and Filipinos participated and enjoyed the several games and activities prepared, such as the song numbers of invited Filipino guests, karaoke contests joined by plenty of our “Kabayans” (how we call each other being from the same country, the Philippines) and Filipino parlor games. The participants received amazing prices, mostly products from the Philippines. Some vendors and game winners also received special prices from the Department of Tourism Philippines, some pili nuts and flags.
During this event, we also made an exhibit room, which features plenty of products made in the Philippines, such as the traditional clothes and textiles, handmade crafts from shells, baskets, and carved wood. Everyone was encouraged to take home a variety of brochures provided by the Department of Tourism Philippines based in Frankfurt through the Philippine Embassy Poland. In addition, free journals were given away courtesy of The Filipino Expat Magazine based in the Netherlands.
For this event, we hired the services of FOTO Studija Mannaz, managed and operated by Pavel Turovskij and Olga Turovskaja.
Facebook post from the Philippine Embassy in Warsaw, Poland here: https://www.facebook.com/PHLinPoland/posts/837584868408843
Facebook post from Merienda Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/MeriendainLithuania/videos/1103520674037350/
A few weeks after the event, a friend shared with me a link to an article https://lhlib.ru/neskolko-krutejshih-veshhej-s-filippin/, written by Mr. Alexander Nevrozov. He talked about plenty of information about the Philippines and used the photos he gathered during the gathering in his article. A little update: the time I posted the reel in Facebook and Instagram, I stated that I was looking for Mr. Nevrozov to thank him for writing the article. He actually answered my post in Instagram and we are now connected. 🙂
Facebook post/reel about this in this link https://www.facebook.com/reel/416698087401446
Some photos below:
