Ang Kalatas November 2018 Issue | Page 11

news Bet it's X'mas already CHRISTMAS has always come early for Filipinos. So it does today with Filipino- Australians. The community is kicking off this Christmas season with a Philippine Christmas Festival at Tumbalong Park in Sydney’s Darling Harbour on the Saturday-Sunday of November 10-11, from 10am to 9pm. There will be food and trade stalls as well as entertainment to usher in the Christmas season spirit. As festival chairwoman Elsa Collado says, the celebration “aims to promote Philippine art, culture, trade and tourism as well as Filipino heritage and identity; and to enhance the visibility and stature pf the Filipino community in NSW”. The Festival is organised by the Philippine Community Council of NSW with the support of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippine Tourism, and Philippine Department of Trade and Industry. UP alumni reunion call THE University of the Philippines Alumni Association of Australia, NSW chapter has invited members and other UP alumni to its Christmas celebration on Saturday, November 24, 2018 at Collaroy on the Northern Beaches.. Going strong for 38 years, UPAAA-NSW aims to assist UP in the fulfilment of its mission as an academic institution, assist in the development and welfare of alumni in Australia and in the Philippines, and to foster socio-cultural development and interaction between the Association and the Australian community. www.kalatas.com.au Coming and going Roving reporter MARILIE BOMEDIANO checks Sydney international airport ARIANE ABARQUEZ, 17 AQUEZA AQUINO, 43 ROEL SAMERA, 48 MALOU GERALDE, 60 ARRIVALS DEPARTURES ARIANE - Our RECAB team of 17 dancers arrived to compete at the World Supremacy Battleground, the most prestigious street dance competition in the Southern Hemisphere, to be held in Sydney. We flew directly from Davao City for the international hip-hop dancesport in the 'monster crew' category with five contenders. SAMERA - Going back to the Philippines is like finding a missing part of the jigsaw puzzle, reconnecting with my roots in Tarlac and Batangas. I migrated to Australia 1974 and I’m married to an Australian. I'm travelling to the Philippines because I’m part of an organisation called ‘Trips Plus’ a holiday with a purpose. AQUEZA - I arrived from Mariveles, Bataan, on a student visa. I worked in Abu Dhabi for over a year as a homecare nurse, after 13 of experience as an nurse in Saudi Arabia. I enjoy going to other countries and checking out their culture, and tourist spots. MALOU - I’m heading for Misamis Occidental, Mindanao, to our village’s farm manned by Subanon ethnic minorities who are my family from the Manaka tribe. In Australia, I’m a widow with two children and one grandson. I do cleaning for a job, and I’ve been here since 1995. Regional meet for Rizal Knights THE Sydney chapter of the Knights of Rizal will be host the first Knights of Rizal Australia, New Zealand and Oceania (ANZO) regional assembly and conference on Friday- Saturday, November 23-15, 2018 at Sydney Olympic Park in Homebush. The event will comprise activities at various locations, but events of last two days will take place at Olympic Park. Knights of Rizal counterpart, the Kababaihang Rizalista (Ladies Of Rizal), will join the assembly and conference. A Philippine delegation led by Supreme Commander and Court of Appeals Justice Elihu Ybanez will come Supreme Council trustees and members of the council of elders. AK NewsMagazine, Vol 9 No 1 2 | November OCTOBER 2018 2018 11