EDGEWATER, Colo. — It's the 125th Filipino Independence Day and the Filipino-American Community of Colorado (FACC) is celebrating with a two-day festival this weekend on June 10 and 11.
"This is just celebration of authentic culture of the Philippines," said Jonabelle Mwamba, auditor of FACC. "It is really important to share our culture because this state is very diverse."
She said the FACC is one of the oldest Filipino community groups in the state, having been established since 1954. They've also put on this festival for the last 28 years.
Whether you're here for the lumpia, shopping at local businesses or dancing, the community will embrace you.
"This is our home away from home," said Mwamba. "The Filipino's, we are very, very hospitable and we welcome everybody."
This is an inclusive space, where everyone is invited to celebrate culture and community.
"Out here to support not only the Filipino Community but Filipinos who also identify as queer," said Briggs, founder of Queer Denver.
Briggs founded the organization, Queer Denver, in January. They have a booth set-up at this year's Philippine Festival.
"I had this one person come up to us and tell me how they're Filipino and they're queer but people always separate it," said Briggs. "They're like, oh you can only be Filipino or you can only be queer. You can only be one or the other and they were really appreciative of what we were doing."
They're making cards of encouragement for queer youth in Denver at their booth and raising money to make back-to-school bags for queer and trans students.
"That's what being queer means. It means fighting for everyone regardless of what race you are, what you identify with. We have to be here for everybody," they said. "It’s really cool to see people see themselves in these events."
It's a festival where everyone is welcome and celebrated.
"We are a very tight knit community. Once you are in our community we consider you as our family," said Mwamba. "So you should come!"
The 28th Annual Philippines Festival is held at 1900 Harlan Street in Edgewater from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 10th and 11th.
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