Daly City, home of the largest Filipino-American community in the United States, will host the 14th Annual Filipino-American (Fil-Am) Friendship celebration on June 28 and 29, 2008, at the Serramonte Shopping Center Mall. The Daly City festival remains to be the longest-running Fil-Am event in the Bay Area that offers free admission. For more information, please check the following link:
http://dalycityfilamfestival.com/default.aspx
I am not associated with the organization, but we have been a vendor at this event for approximately 8-9 years when it was at Westlake Shopping Center. We did not participate the past 2 years that it's been held at Serra Bowl. This is the first year that the festival is at Serramonte Shopping Center. Over the years, I guess attendance has been around 3,000-5,000. We enjoyed doing this event and listening to the entertainment, which was sensational the year they celebrated the Philippines' Independence. It was very difficult to set up and take down our displays in Westlake, since it was quite confining. Security was a major issue there also and the mall was declining, with many empty stores our last couple years there.
Monday, June 16, 2008
14th Annual Daly CIty-Quezon City Fil-Am Festival
Fiesta Filipina - San Francisco
June 7-8. I am hoping to hear from people who did this event. Originally we planned in participating in this festival for the 9th consecutive year, but when I contacted the 'new promoter' I found out that spaces were $700. So, we signed up to do the Hercules Cultural Festival in the East Bay. While in Oakdale, I was told that there was another promoter involved who was offering spaces for $375.00 and that would have been fine with me, but I had already paid for the other event and we were unable to participate. Still, the $375 was a hefty increase in booth fees for this show and us vendors are victims of price gouging by promoters, etc.
Anyhow, we do expect to return to Fiesta Filipino at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco next year and we hope to see a lot of our returning customers and other vendors with whom we have shared our aquaintances with over the years. The entertainment there has always been great and occasionally is beamed back to 'The Islands'. In the past, they have had very large crowds on the Sunday of the show.
American Graffiti Car Show & Festival-Modesto, CA
I know a number of people that did this event during the weekend of June 6-8 and I haven't heard anything good from vendors. To my understanding, sales were atrocious. I think that we did this show the first or second year they had it and it was indeed ATROCIOUS with capital letters!!! It can get pretty hot in Modesto in the month of June.
However, they do have a number of events circling around the 'American Graffiti' theme as they celebrate the 35th anniversary of this great movie classic. Check this link for more info. Maybe you are interested.
http://www.visitmodesto.com/calendar/specialevents/graffiti/calendar.asp
Sunday in Cambria
After we closed up on Saturday, we drove down the street to the Main Street Grill and picked up some Baby Back Pork Ribs and their Main Street Salad and took them back to devour at the motel. Absolutely delicious. Been getting food from there for years!!! Read what people have to say about this place. Highly recommended!!!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/main-street-grill-cambria
Sales were extremely slow on Sunday. Worst day we ever had in Cambria and shall not be returning. We had planned on coming back in November, but those plans are now shelved. Very few tourists nowadays and the 'locals' just do not support us. The street running behind the show was blocked off for construction, forcing people to drive an extra mile to the other side of town. The show is highly visible from Highway One.
Perhaps in 2009 over Father's Day Weekend, you can find us in Isleton at the Crawdad Festival. Time to give it a try. Anyway, check out our reviews of shows on our website DandL CREATIONS 2007-8 show reviews
If you are a vendor and need to stay in the motel, it's not really worth it. Some local vendors were satisfield as booth fees are reasonable but added expenses of gas and motel just don't make it!!!! I would rate this show: 2 cups of noodles!!
