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Filipino celebration 'hugely positive' following recent fear

Daniel Logan
BBC News NI
BBC Three people stand in front of a red wall. There is a black metal fence beside them. A man with shirt black hair stands in the middle. He wears a black t-shirt and has a black bag over his shoulder. A small boy stands under the mans arm. He has short brown hair and a white t-shirt. To the mans left is a red-haired woman with a grey t-shirt, green trousers and white handbag. She wears orange lensed glasses. BBC
Timothy has been coming to the event, with his wife and child, for three years

Thousands of people have been celebrating the traditions, heritage and cuisine of the Philippines in Belfast.

Barrio Fiesta, which celebrates Filipino independence day, was held at a community centre on the Grosvenor Road.

The event came at a significant moment for Filipinos living in Northern Ireland, some of whom were caught up in recent disorder in Ballymena following a peaceful protest over an alleged sexual assault.

After the fear caused by the racially motivated violence, many told BBC News NI how a "positive" event like this is important for their community.

Two men hold a flag of the Philippines. It has a blue bar and a red bar underneath, a white triangle pierces the colours from the right with a yellow sun in the white part. Two men dressed in gold waistcoats and black t-shirts walk on the other side of the flag. The man holding the flag on the right wears a white and brown chequered shirt and green hat with blue jeans. The other man has on blue jeans and a white t-shirt, with a grey hoodie round his neck.
Performers at the Barrio Fiesta make their way to the stage.

Timothy, who lives in Belfast with his wife and son, ran a stall at the event.

He said it was very enjoyable day: "Whenever we have these kind of events everyone is just enjoying it, you don't see any negatives, everything is positive."

"Usually it is all about food, because a lot of the Filipinos here don't get to have or enjoy the traditional food that we have out in the Philippines."

"You can only fully find these foods whenever we have this kind of event."

Timothy added it is a great chance to meet people who have also arrived from the Philippines and elsewhere.

"It's a great chance to have fun, meet new people. Especially the Filipino community in Belfast, you don't really see a lot of them, until you come to an event like this."

"It's also a chance to reconnect with our home country."

A market stall with fruit on the tables. The tables have a red cloth. Five people are behind the stall whilst a queue of customers wait to be served. Yellow Bananas sit amongst fruit wrapped in a white net, and large round yellow/green fruit. Two scales sit on the table, woman in a black t-shirt and black glasses stands beside one. A woman in a white shirt, brown hair and glasses operates the other one.
Dozens of stalls offered Filipino produce

Barrio Fiesta translates to "neighbourhood festival" in Tagalog, a regional language of the Philippines.

The event celebrated Filipino heritage, traditions, and cuisine.

There was dancing, food stalls and many different Filipino businesses present.

Many of those attending were looking forward to a performance from the famous Filipino actor and singer Ian Veneracion.

A man and woman stand on a green Astroturf pitch, about a hundred people stand behind them. A large stage can be seen in the background. The man wears a white t-shirt with a cream vest over it with grey trousers and white shoes. He has shirt brown hair and a beard. The woman wears a small white dress, yellow handbag and Pink sandals. She wears brown sunglasses and has long brown hair.
Tina and Joseph Black

Tina Black, manager of the Grosvenor Community Centre, said the event has been happening for just over two decades.

"When many of the Filipino community started coming to Belfast they were looking for somewhere to play basketball, and for the children to engage."

"So we decided to hold big celebrations for them during the year and one of them was independence day."

6 silver trays are filled with a variety of hot meals. Three people who are serving the food have red t-shirts on. Some customers can be seen queuing up to order.
Traditional Filipino food was served during the Barrio Fiesta

Following the recent disorder in Ballymena and other areas of Northern Ireland she said some Filipinos had been worried about getting to the event.

She said: "I was unsettled to know that people who contribute so much, to this place, had any concerns about public transport."

Thankfully there was no concern about this venue, as we have such a strong relationship," Tina added.

A long brown haired woman wears a white shirt with a black top underneath. She has a pearl necklace around her neck. She wears brown tinted sunglasses and pink lipstick. Behind her, out of focus, are black and green market stalls.
Carol Panday is one of the events organiser's

Carol Panday who helped organise the event said it gets bigger every year with approximately 2000 expected to attend.

Referring to the violent scenes in Ballymena she said it was "great for us to be here".

However, Carol says there is still some fear: "Even my colleagues that came over from London, some of them were asking me if it was safe to travel to Belfast."

A sign reading "Filipino lives here" is stuck to a crescent window above a door, surrounded by the red brickwork of the front of a house. The sign also has the red, white and blue flag of the Philippines on it
Signs have appeared outside some homes in Ballymena to indicate the nationality of residents

Recent disorder in Ballymena led some residents to homes displaying stickers outlining the residents' nationalities.

Signs which read "Filipino lives here" could be seen on some doors.

Businesses and homes were attacked and damaged and a number of vehicles were also set on fire in the area.

A man and woman stand side by side. The woman has long brown hair and wears a white shirt with a sand coloured top underneath. The man who stands to the woman's right wears a blue t-shirt with a green apron on over it, he has short brown hair.
Crystal Gay Galula & Michael Arco

Crystal Gay Galula & Michael Arco operated a coffee stand at the event.

"Well this year is our first year, its overwhelming, the amount of people around here, it feels like you are in the Philippines."

"It shows they all love Filipino culture, the music, the food, it's great to see this."