A group of 27 Culture Philippines of Ontario (CPO) performers and directors left Toronto Pearson airport on July 28, 2009 to participate in a festival in Belgium and a side trip to Paris. Some CPO parents also came totalling the number of the group to 33 persons. The group was headed by Artistic Director Eno Mescallado-Kalash and Executive Director Luz Del Rosario and were assisted by Directors Vangie Pineda (Costume) and Carlo Lopez (Music). We participated in Moerbeke-Waas folk dance festival with 5 other groups from Sicily, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and two groups from the host city. We were hosted by the festival’s participating families who also brought us around the cities of Belgium including Ghent, Bruges, Brussels, Antwerp, and Damme to name some.

The first performance was in Eeklo, a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The name Eeklo comes from the contraction of “eke” and “lo”, two Old German words meaning “oak” and “sparse woods”. CPO met some Filipinos who came to watch the show. Some host families and festival organizers also came to watch the Eeklo’s performance of all the participating groups. CPO’s performance was an instant hit and endless pictures were taken with the CPO performers after the show. The word spread fast in Moerbeke about our success in Eeklo and the people became watchful of our show time schedule. By the time we went on stage for the Moerbeke festival, people were eagerly waiting and cheering for the group. The succeeding days of the festival were constant success with more audience anticipating our performances. It was quite evident that CPO became the darling of the crowd. Our host families were so proud of us and the organizers were extremely happy to have us. Some Filipino Belgians and their spouses became regular audience in our shows and became friends and supporters of CPO. It was not easy to say goodbye to our new found Belgian friends when we left after the festival.

After the successful Belgium festival, the group went to Paris for a side trip. The group had so much fun going around the famous Paris landmarks: the famed Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, Le Sacre Coeur Cathedral, The Chateau and Gardens of Versailles, The Louvre Museum, The Opera, and posed in front of the famous house of Can-Can: The Moulin Rouge. It was a very hot summer in Paris but not hot enough to keep the CPO from enjoying a full Parisian summer this year!!!

CPO performers for Belgium festival:

Ainsley Umali, Leslie Umali, Arlene Silang, Yvon LaBercasio, Justine del Rosario, Natasha Villafria, Krisilda Pagaduan, Nicole Pineda, Kae Coronel, Alexis Macapagal, Chloe Rondeau, Jennifer Fermo, Denice Badua, Alvin Gadong, Allan Gadong, Habib Kalash, Milad Kalash, Alvin Gutierrez, Sander Coronel, Michael Coronel, Arnold de Guzman, Ernesto Rimando, Dave LaBercasio