Filipino groups host charity event

A free day-long event sponsored by Kappa Psi Epsilon and the Pilipino American Coalition helped celebrate the season of giving at Cal State Long Beach Saturday as part of "Christmasfest 2000."

Christmasfest, in its fourth year, was held to benefit charities and celebrate Pilipino and Pilipino American Christmas traditions. The event raised over $500 in toys, blankets and clothes which, will be donated to the Philippine Children's Charity fund, a charity that helps build better lives and better communities in the Philippines. The Filipino American Service Group Inc., which houses and cares for World War II veterans, are also recipients of the donations.

Besides Christmasfest's charitable donations, it also had entertainment and food to offer. Vendors and groups such as Downright Pinoy, a clothing company that supports Filipino culture, Customatix.com, the Justice for Filipino American Veterans and Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches were among the many organizations to support and contribute to the festivities.

"Christmasfest is bringing a lot of the community onto the campus that we usually don't interact with," said Nanci Vuong of Chi Delta Theta. "This is a good program, there's a lot of organizations here that can educate the people."

Christmasfest  featured performances of a very diverse selection, ranging from the cultural dancing of Sining Ginto to the hip-hop tunes of Poet Name Life and Elements of the Outer Realm.

"The performances were great," said Christmasfest attendee, Christina Agustin. "The cultural dancing is a part of my Filipino culture while the PAC Modern routine is a symbol of my Pilipino American culture."

"Things went a lot smoother than years in the past," said Christmasfest 2000 Coordinator, Amber Ng. "The organization of the event was better and everyone involved really contributed a lot this year."

Everything ran smoothly until the end when sound system difficulties forced the closure of "Christmasfest 2000" and a few groups were unable to perform.

"It's sad that some people didn't get to perform because I'm sure as we did, all the other groups worked hard to prepare for this event," said Jason Gutierrez of the band, Fireburn.