Filipino Fridays

BC's largest Filipino Festival "Pinoy Festival" returns to celebrate Filipino Heritage Month, the 128th Anniversary of Philippine Independence, and the unifying spirit of the FIFA World Cup with a free, cultural celebration in Burnaby at Swangard Stadium. About Pinoy Festival Pinoy Festival 2026 is open to all communities. Multicultural organizations are invited to join through the Solidarity Parade, cultural performances, and community booths. The festival is a volunteer-driven event organized by the Pinoy Festival Alliance, a coalition of Filipino organizations from across British Columbia, and is built on the Filipino value of Bayanihan, the spirit of collective unity and helping one another.About Kim LacanariaAs a first-generation immigrant, she is driven by a vision to create safe and welcoming spaces where young immigrants can experience a sense of “home” in Canada. At 16, Kimberly brought this vision to life by founding Palarong Pinoy, an event that united students across the Vancouver School Board to celebrate Filipino heritage, successfully running it for two consecutive years (2024, 2025). As the Co-Founder, she hopes to continue the legacy and expand it provincially.  In 2024, she joined the Sea Cadet Program, earning the rank of Petty Officer First Class and receiving the 2025 Seamanship and Leadership Award, the Strathcona Medal of Excellence, and the Perpetual Award in 2026. She is the inaugural recipient of the Benson Flores Award presented by Pinoy Festival Alliance. Kimberly exemplifies leadership, service, and cultural pride. As a SHINE recipient of the Beedie Luminary Scholarship, she continues to build bridges, inspire the next generation, and make a lasting, meaningful impact while remaining grounded in heritage and purpose.

Hello again fam! Welcome to Filipino Fridays. It's been a minute since our last episode, so tune in for an update and food for thought regarding Community (work) and community care. How do we define community? What does that mean for us? How do we want to show up for others? All that and more on our comeback episode! Follow Filipino Fridays Podcast on instagram: @filipinofridayspodcast Email us at [email protected] Music: hot Coffee by Patrick Patrikios

Welcome back to Filipino Fridays! It's been a minute fam and we're so excited to have Arthur Tiojanco on this episode. In honor of the Vancouver Street Dance Festival's 10-Year Anniversary, we have the honor of speaking with our special guest on seeing the community event grow into one of Canada's largest outdoor street dance festivals! Arthur shares how the love of hip-hop and breakdancing led to work as a community organizer. We speak about the joy of seeing our Filipino brothers and sisters thrive in the art of street dance culture and finding spaces within dance where we belong. With breakdance set to debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, there's exciting times ahead for street dance. ABOUT ARTHUR TIOJANCO Arthur Tiojanco began his breaking career in 2003 and has worked his way to be recognized as a leading individual in the Vancouver breaking scene. He is a member of Surrey’s oldest, active breaking crew “Floor Storm”, and has competed locally and internationally. In 2007, Arthur organized and hosted his first breaking competition with PraiseTEAM Studio. Since then, he has organized dozens of battles in the Lower Mainland. He is the current Vice Chair of the Vancouver Street Dance Association, which puts on the Vancouver Street Dance Festival at Robson Square, the largest annual outdoor Street Dance Festival in Canada! Outside of street dance, Arthur works as a program Facilitator for after school programs in the Surrey School District. He is also currently completing his Master Degree in Clinical Counseling. Follow Filipino Fridays Podcast on Instagram: @FilipinoFridaysPodcast / Email us at [email protected] / Music: Hot Coffee by Patrick Patrikios

Welcome back to Filipino Fridays! Incredible episode for you today as we present the re-broadcast of our live show! Mabuhay! 

Welcome back to Filipino Fridays fam! . In partnership with Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society, explorASIAN Festival and CiTR101.9FM, every week in May, Filipino Fridays Podcast will be featuring emerging Filipino artists to perform live music sessions at the CiTR lounge. Make sure to tune in every Monday to discover over a dozen up and coming Filipino/a/x artists across multiple genres. The next artist in our music series is Audder (she/they), a Filipinx-Canadian artist of multiple genres and multiple feelings. Audder’s music narrates what it’s like to know love, loss, and longing, all while trying to know yourself. She’s written lyrically driven songs across genres: R&B, pop, with hip hop and alternative influences.   Jasmine "Audder" Monton performed music and poetry across the prairies where she was born and raised. Currently, she lives in Vancouver, BC and helps produce Filipino Fridays Podcast. Listen to Audder’s first solo release, Violet Tape EP, on all streaming platforms. With more music set to release this year, Audder aims to grow herself and the community of artists around her. Our other artist feature comes from the vocal powerhouse, Argel MDR - a Filipino-Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor from Surrey, Canada. He was one of the Top 10 finalists of CBC's Toyota Searchlight 2021. When he was 15 years old, he moved to Canada from the Philippines with his family to seek a better life and opportunities. With Sam Smith, One Republic, and Original Pinoy Music (OPM) as his music influences, Argel wants to use the power of storytelling to inspire Filipino youth and other immigrants through his music and theatrical performances. In addition, he is an advocate of representation, anti-racism work, and inclusion. Argel's most recent single, 'Sail Away' was featured in Spotify editorial playlists, including Fresh Finds Philippines. Thank you to our partner CiTR 101.9 FM for supporting this podcast. Follow Filipino Fridays Podcast on Instagram: @FilipinoFridaysPodcast Email us at [email protected]. Music: Hot Coffee by Patrick Patrikios

We're back with a new episode!  "It's essential to create spaces and capital to invest in our own kapwa." - S.Bondoc On this episode, Simon Bondoc, Director of Outreach from Pinoys on Parliament joins us to talk about the yearly national conference focused on youth leadership for young Filipino Canadians. In this compelling conversation we discuss:  - Discovering and celebrating Filipino joy in a safe community that empowers and uplifts Filipino youth.  - The theme for this year's conference 'Pagitan' - which describes the two worlds we stand in. From where we came from (the Philippines) and the intricacies that we face as we navigate life in Canada. - Finding our space in between and exploring our intersections because our identity is not monolithic. - Building a space where the young Filipino generation feels supported in their journey of healing and liberation for themselves. - Why its significant to see Filipino representation in Parliament and how crucial it is that we take up space in society without losing who we are. - Lastly, reclaiming our power as a Filipino/a/x and channeling our energy in making a difference for our people  ABOUT SIMON BONDOC Simon Bondoc is a new university graduate, community leader, activist and the Director of Outreach for the 2022 Pinoys on Parliament conference. He is Kapampangan and Hiligaynon, living on Moh’kins’tsis in Treaty 7 territory, colonially known as Calgary. The first POP in 2019 made the things he is passionate about now come to life: politics, social justice, community building, culture and spirituality. He has been involved in different organizations, projects and election campaigns ever since. In the future, he hopes to be ordained as a minister in the United Church of Canada and be the loving, queer, justice-seeking Filipino minister he wished he knew growing up. Thank you to our partner CiTR 101.9 FM for supporting this podcast. Follow Filipino Fridays Podcast on Instagram: @FilipinoFridaysPodcast Email us at [email protected]. Music: Hot Coffee by Patrick Patrikios

Welcome back to Filipino Fridays fam! We are so glad to be back and bring you something special for this month. In partnership with Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society, explorASIAN Festival and CiTR101.9FM, every week in May, Filipino Fridays Podcast will be featuring emerging Filipino artists to perform live music sessions at the CiTR lounge. Make sure to tune in every Monday to discover over a dozen up and coming Filipino/a/x artists across multiple genres. The first artist in our music series is a contributing soul to Vancouver’s music culture for nearly a decade. Filipino/Canadian artist Kardias Quing offers a message of love and sovereignty to her community. Through her collaborations with producer and long time friend Withinroots, they have cultivated and continue to create a repertoire that uplifts and empowers. Influenced by Indie R&B and Alternative Pop, her creative efforts cut through the woes of modern distraction, and bring us all back to our infinite possibility. The second artist feature comes from the incredibly talented R&B vocalist, Amber Bayani. Whether it's a deep understanding of harmony or an acute ear for rhythm, Filipino Canadian songbird Amber Bayani has a gift for coupling the technical aspects of singing with the modern approach to popular songwriting. She has been able to build a strong rapport with her listeners purely based off of her honesty and her self awareness. Thank you to our partner CiTR 101.9 FM for supporting this podcast. Follow Filipino Fridays Podcast on Instagram: @FilipinoFridaysPodcast Email us at [email protected]. Music: Hot Coffee by Patrick Patrikios

Welcome back to Filipino Fridays~! Tune in to Part 2 of this episode featuring transgender advocate, Romeo Reyes.

Welcome back to Filipino Fridays~! In honor of the International Day of Transgender Visibility, joining us on this episode is actor, model, tattoo artist and Transgender advocate, Romeo Reyes. 

Welcome back to Filipino Fridays! On this episode, we analyzed how intergenerational trauma was covered in the Disney movie, Encanto. From Abuela's pressure to preserve the family miracle to burdens on the children, we unpack it all. The traumatic experience and grief that comes from immigrating to coming to terms on how to understand our elders, we hope that you even find this episode therapeutic!