I wrote and posted pictures of last year's Festival of Cultures. Last week, the annual festival was celebrated once again.
The Festival of Cultures 2008 held at the Hyper Center in South Dakota State University Campus attracted visitors from around town. Like last year, high school students abound in the area. They came in groups with their papers, pencils, and a set of questions. They were asked to interview people who participated in the event as part of their subject requirements.
At first, it went well when a couple of girls asked me few things like the language in the Philippines, the favorite dish of the Filipinos, how Filipinos say hello or goodbye...stuff like that. But when minute after minute students from various schools stopped by the Filipino display booth and asked the same questions over and over again, it was just annoying!
If you happened to see the booth with no one manning it, I was somewhere escaping from the irritating "interview" portion.
There were few differences in this year's event from the one last year. First, I had "fashion accessories" sold in our booth (finally, the business-minded person in me came out). I realized it was the only event that I could make money out of Pinoy products. I told my little brother who is working in Manila to send me a box of those beautiful little things he sees in Divisoria -- things foreigners usually buy. He did send me a huge box and I had a hard time pricing them all. In the end, I sold each item for $2.50 and lowered it to $2.00 during the closing hour. Business was good. Really good!Second, it was the first time that the Filipinos had a Food Booth. Maricel did a good job as well as Ate Nitz and her husband in preparing the food to sell. We had egg rolls (in two varieties - chicken and pork), fried rice and pancit (rice noddles). As early as 12 noon, we already ran out of food (pancit and rice) . Sold out! That was how good Pinoys were in cooking. There were customers who waited and queued only to be disappointed to know they couldn't taste the rice noodles anymore. Next year, we already know what to do, what to sell, how to estimate the number of people who love the taste of the tropics.
The day ended with the Filipinos happy. Happy that we were able to share our culture to the other nationals. Happy that everything turned out well and good. We will have a much bigger booth to accommodate everyone next year. Promise.Labels: Brooking Fun
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