Philippine Food, Culture and Trade Festival kicks off

The much-awaited Philippine Food, Culture, and Trade Festival Qatar (PFCTFQ) kicked off yesterday, featuring more than 30 Filipino cuisines and trade exhibitors with hundreds of patrons in attendance at the Sapphire Plaza Hotel in Doha.The two-day event puts a spotlight on the Kulinarya Food Court, Bazaar and Trade Fair exhibition, “Munting Prinsipe at Prinsesa” pageant for children, Tiktok competition, HipHop Battle Championship, Karaoke challenges, and live band competition.Officials from the Philippine embassy, as well as prominent Qatari businessmen in partnership with Filipino entrepreneurs, are expected to grace a ‘grand opening’ today from 8am.Organisers noted that today’s highlights include a grand cultural fashion parade dubbed as the "sagala" with more than 300 participants, talent competitions, cultural performances, cooking competitions, exhibitions, and other activities for families. In a press statement, PFCTFQ programme director Joseph Timothy Rivera said the attendance for the initial programmes yesterday was overwhelming and a bigger crowd turn-out was expected today. “The outcome on the first day was beyond our expectations and we are braced for a more exciting day today as we welcome more guests from various nationalities,” he said.PFCTFQ is organised by Kulinarya Qatar in collaboration with the Philippine embassy in Doha and the Filipino community headed by the Association of Filipino Realtors and Entrepreneurs in Qatar.According to the organisers, PFCTFQ serves as a precursor to upcoming community and public events planned by Kulinarya Qatar and the Philippine embassy until next year.