12 Philippine Showbiz Today
March 22 - April 7, 2019
Cover Story
Ride to Conquer Cancer (RTCC) Fundraiser:
Joey in Perfect Harmony concert
C
ancer is a horrible
disease that affects
us all in one way or
another, but at the fundraiser on
Saturday, March 9th, we raised
money and morale. Aside from
raising money that will turn the
dial on cancer research, we raised
awareness and showed that there
is hope.
Headlining the event was my
mom, Joey Albert. While many
know her as the Filipino singer
and songwriter, some may not
know that she is a 3-time cancer
survivor. I can remember the
two most recent incidents, but I
was very young when she went
through it the first time. Before I
was born, Joey lost her father and
sister to colon cancer, but she was
able to beat it herself. Twice. I
remember how horrible it was to
watch her go through this both
times, and can’t even imagine how
hard it must have been for her. I
was very inspired by her strength
and resilience, and decided to
find some way to take action.
While I am not a researcher
or a doctor, I can ride a bike. So I
started a team called “Fast and
Cure-ious” for the Ride to Conquer
Cancer in 2017, and at first there
were only 4 of us. Since then, we
have grown in size and now have
11 riders. Each of them rides for
By Margarita Pacis
their own personal reasons, and
we support each other as much
as we can. The Ride to Conquer
Cancer is a 200 km ride from
Vancouver to Hope that takes
place over 2 days in August. Each
participant has to raise a minimum
of $2,500 in order for the ride;
all of this goes to the BC Cancer
Foundation to improve cancer
research. This research benefits
people like my mom and ensures
that health care is as advanced as
it can possibly be.
Raising $2,500 can be a
daunting task, but becomes
much easier through planning
fundraisers and events. Since
starting the team, we have
planned an event called “Dance
to Conquer Cancer” every year
with the help of my mom and the
Manilaband. We typically play 80’s
and 90’s themed music, and there
is always plenty of dancing. While
the general tone of the event is
meant to be light and fun, it can
be an emotional night for many
people (myself included) because
of what it stands for. For me, it is a
reminder that while Joey’s battle
is over, we still haven’t beat cancer
yet. But the event always fills me
with hope. To see so many people
come together and to receive so
much support for a shared cause
is very uplifting and inspires
me and my team to continue
to participate in the Ride.
This year, the show was
called “Joey in Perfect Harmony”,
which is a play on words that
acknowledges our special guest
star, Perf de Castro. We were so
fortunate to have Perf come up to
Vancouver for the show – he is an
amazing person and performer!
The event was at Creekside
Community Centre in Vancouver,
BC. We ended up selling out the
event very early on and had a full
house. We raised over $2,600 from
this one event Kulinarya Filipino
Eatery sold delicious food at the
event, and all of the proceeds
from that will go to cancer
research as well. Overall, it was a
very successful night and we are
excited to do it again next year. ●
Photos by Christian Cunanan & MC