TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – On Saturday, people gathered at Tom Brown Park for the annual Filipino Festival, bringing the community together to celebrate Filipino culture.<\/p>\n
Organizers with the Big Bend Filipino American Association say 6,000 to 7,000 people attended this year\u2019s festival, with 30 to 40% coming from out of town.<\/p>\n
The festival featured 37 vendors offering everything from Filipino food and fashion to arts and crafts. Organizers also brought professional artists from the Philippines to perform on stage.<\/p>\n
Romeo Aggabao, president of the Big Bend Filipino American Association, says the festival is an opportunity to share Filipino culture and traditions with the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try to share our cultural activities in the Philippines and our traditions, and basically this is big for the community because we want to also want to spread diversity. We would also like to share not only our food and delicious things but our ethnicity,\u201d Aggabao said.<\/p>\n
Funding for events like the Filipino Festival was recently at risk<\/a> with the new DEI law taking effect January 1. However, the Tallahassee City Commission voted to keep its current policy<\/a> in place and continue funding these events.<\/p>\n Organizers say they hope to make the festival even bigger next year.<\/p>\n To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Nextdoor<\/a> <\/a>and X<\/a> (Twitter<\/a>).<\/p>\n Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here<\/a>. Please include the article\u2019s headline in your message.<\/p>\n Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click here<\/a> to get started.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n