Celebration of Filipino culture becomes display of unity after deadly Vancouver attack

CBC News

· Posted: May 03, 2025 6:10 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Winnipeg's Filipino assemblage came unneurotic Saturday for an yearly solemnisation of civilization that was tainted with information concerns aft past week's deadly onslaught successful Vancouver, but besides offered an accidental to show unity and strength.

The Mayflower Festival is portion of a month-long solemnisation to honour the blessed Virgin Mary, featuring prayers, floral offerings and processions, said Alden Novallasca, organizer of Saturday's parade with the Quezon Province Association of Manitoba. 

The yearly Filipino contented is being celebrated this twelvemonth astatine Winnipeg's Maples Community Centre, against the backdrop of a deadly car-ramming onslaught astatine a Filipino thoroughfare festival successful Vancouver last Sunday that near 11 radical dormant and dozens much injured.

"We're mourning astir that," Novallasca said.

After the attack, Novallasca said determination were conversations to guarantee determination were capable information measures successful spot for the outdoor parade that was portion of Saturday's celebrations.

Police officers were connected hand, and cruisers blocked entree to roadways during the parade, which ran for less than 2 hours earlier much programming held indoors.

Dozens of radical from antithetic property groups wearing colourful attire and holding banners decorated with flowers joined successful Saturday's parade.

In caller years, the parade has brought retired about 30 radical connected average, but Novallasca said the fig of attendees jumped this year, with just implicit 100 participants coming unneurotic for the celebration. 

"It's truthful overmuch bigger this year," helium said.

The car-ramming onslaught was successful the backmost of Gloria Agravande's caput arsenic she walked successful the parade, but with the streets barricaded and a constabulary beingness connected site, she said she felt safe. 

"This lawsuit means to maine [the] unity of Filipinos, happiness, unity, love," she said. "We are our ain and we are proud, and we're thankful to God that we came to Canada … and proceed with our cultures."

While it was an accidental to observe an yearly tradition, Saturday's parade was besides "to amusement the radical that we're not scared," Agravande said.

"We should not clasp backmost our lives, for emotion and unity and improvement of Filipino culture."