Compiled by Assistant Editor Alfredo G. Evangelista. Send your community briefs to info@filamvoice.com.
Binhi At Ani
Celebrate your special events at Binhi at Ani Filipino Community Center. The Center can be rented from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. for $1,150 (including the cleaning fee) plus a $500 security deposit; from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for $800 (including the cleaning fee) plus a $500 security deposit; or from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. for $950 (including the cleaning fee) plus a $500 security deposit. If alcohol is provided and/or served, there is an additional fee of $300 and you must hire two licensed bartenders. Self-service coolers and/or BYOB (guests providing their own alcohol) are NOT allowed.
Photo: Ceasar Lizada Photography
The office is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays by appointment only. Telephone (808) 877-7880.
The 55th Annual Barrio Fiesta®—the longest running Filipino Fiesta outside of the Philippines—will be held on Friday, May 24 (5 p.m.–10 p.m.) and Saturday, May 25 (10 a.m.–10 p.m.).
Food vendors (Binhi at Ani, Dance International Foundation, Ilocos Surian Association of Maui, Magsingal, Maui Filipino Community Council, Maria Lanakila Filipino Catholic Club, Maui Revival Church and Mrs. Maui Filipina) will be selling an assortment of Filipino food and local favorites such as bbq beef, bbq chicken feet, bbq paltat, bbq pork, balut, bangus plate, chicharon, chow fun, crispy pork plate, empanada, halo halo, kikiam, kwek kwek, lechon belly plate, miki, pansit, pansit palabok, pinakbet plate, pork adobo, pork lumpia, pork sisig, squid balls and kankanen such as baduya, banana lumpia, cascaron, ice candy, inkiwar, puto, slushy drinks (coffee, POG, coke), suman, tupig and fresh vegetables!
Cultural events such as the Santa Cruzan featuring former Miss Barrio Fiesta®’s and Little/Tiny Miss Barrio Fiesta®’s, a Lechon cooking demonstration, a Cultural Village featuring a replica Bahay Kubo and Cebu, Cordillera, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Metro Manila, Mindanao and Pangasinan. Plus cultural entertainment by Miss Barrio Fiesta 2023 Naoemi Skye Paa, La Galería: Compañía Baile Filipino, Naragsak, Sto. Niño Club of Maui and Students of Aggie Cabebe.
Photo: Ceasar Lizada Photography
Photo: Basilia Evangelista
Photo: Alfredo Evangelista
Photo: Basilia Evangelista
Photo: Alfredo Evangelista
Photo: Alfredo Evangelista
Photo Basilia Evangelista
Photo: Basilia Evangelista
Photo: Basilia Evangelista
Photo: Alfredo Evangelista
Contests (many offering $500 cash prizes) such as The Barrio Fiesta® Voice (Friday night, $500); Do the Sungka! (Saturday morning, $500); Climb the Greased Pole (Saturday afternoon, $500); Sabado Art Foundation Keiki Art Party (Saturday afternoon, $500); Da Pansit Eating Contest (Saturday afternoon, $500); AnyKine Sisig Cooking Challenge (Saturday afternoon, $500); Barrio Fiesta® Balut Eating Contest (Saturday evening, $500) and Barrio Wear Contest (Saturday evening, $250 for males and $250 for females). Plus Pabitin at the Barrio Fiesta! (Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening).
Special events such as the Veterans Memorial Service (Saturday noon) and the Outstanding Housekeepers Awards (Saturday evening).
Plus a Special Tribute to Lahaina’s Filipino community—a tolling of the Sakada Bell by members of the Maria Lanakila Filipino Catholic Club and a candlelight procession honoring the 101 who perished in the Lahaina fire and the two who are still missing.
And yes, on Friday night, the crowning of the 2024 Miss Barrio Fiesta®!
There’s something for everyone at the 55th Annual Barrio Fiesta®!
If you need more information, contact Chairperson Nora Cabanilla-Takushi at (808) 276-8861 or Co-Chairperson Alfredo Evangelista at (808) 294-5510 or President Melen Agcolicol at (808) 205-7981. Or visit Facebook.com/BinhiatAniFilipinoCommunityCenter.
Bayanihan Feeding Program provides a Sunday lunch to Hale Mahaolu Residents in Central Maui (Hale Mahaolu Elua and Hale Mahaolu Akahi) and Maui Adult Day Care.
As of March 31, 2024, a total of 23,482 lunches have been distributed.
Teams serving during the month of March 2024 include Kīhei Charter School Volunteers, Maui Filipino Community Council, Miss Maui USA and Philippine Nurses Association Maui Hawai‘i Chapter.
Photo courtesy Lindsey Rodrigues
Photo courtesy Lindsey Rodrigues
There is a need for additional teams of volunteers to prepare the free lunches. Create a Team by contacting Melen Agcolicol at (808) 205-7981. Tax-deductible donations are accepted via Paypal or a Credit/Debit card or by mailing a check payable to Binhi at Ani, 780 Onehe‘e Avenue, Kahului, HI 96732 [Memo: Feeding Program].
The Bayanihan Feeding Program is supported by grants from Bayer Crop Science Hawai‘i and Nareit Hawai‘i.
Photo: Claudette Medeiros
Enhance®Fitness for Kūpuna at Binhi at Ani Filipino Community Center classes are continuing. They are held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Enhance®Fitness is a low-cost ongoing evidence-based group exercise and falls prevention program helping older adults at all levels of fitness to become more active, energized and empowered to sustain independent lives. Since July 2022 and through December 2023, there have been 508 classes with eighty participants. For more information on Enhance®Fitness, contact Enhance®Fitness Coordinator Ginny Kiick (808) 280-6251 or gkiick@hotmail.com or Wellness Coordinator Claudettte Medeiros (808) 463-3166 or claudette.b.medeiros@co.maui.hi.us.
Image: Lawrence Pascua
Scholarship
All applications received by the March 1, 2024 deadline have been reviewed for completeness and are now being reviewed by the independent panel of Scholarship Judges, who will score each application separately. The scores will then be tallied and ranked. The Scholarship Recipients will be formally introduced at The Seed and Harvest Dinner on July 13, 2024 at the Binhi at Ani Filipino Community Center.
Maui Filipino Community Council
Mrs. Maui Filipina Christle Piano Bautista will be crowned on Sunday, April 28 at Maui Beach’s Rainbow Room ($60 for a prime rib buffet dinner). Contact Madelyne Pascua at (808) 268-0686 for more information.
Photo courtesy Maui Filipino Community Council
The Mrs. Hawai‘i Filipina pageant will be held on Saturday, July 6 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu.
Philippine Nurses Association of Maui, Hawaii
The new Board of Directors of the Philippine Nurses Association of Maui, HI were recently installed by Lt. Col (Ret.) Bob Gahol, Vice President of the Western Region of the Philippine Nurses Association of America. Installed as the officers and directors for 2024-2026 were: Luz Tabajonda, President; Nikki Baysa, President Elect; Monica Natividad, Vice President; Genevieve Magaoay, Secretary; Christiana Casio, Assistant Secretary; Jeanelyn Onnagan, Treasurer; MJ Asayo-Paet, Assistant Treasurer; Christine Gumpal, Auditor; and Aileen Concepcion, MJ Guira, Teresita Layugan, Rose Tumacder and Jolly Ann Uclaray as Directors.
Photo courtesy Christine Gumpal
Photo courtesy Christine Gumpal
Photo courtesy Christine Gumpal
During the induction, a brief moment of silence was held for the late Christina “Lucy” Porte, the Founding President of PNAMHi.
UHMC Kabatak Club
The first ever FilGrad on Maui is being organized by the Kabatak Club at the University of Hawai‘i Maui College. FilGrad Maui 2024 will celebrate the 2024 UHMC graduates of Filipino ancestry at an event on Friday, May 3, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Unlike any other commencement ceremony, FilGrad Maui 2024 will be organized by the graduates for the graduates. The bond between the students to reach this momentous day makes it an accomplishment on its own.
Surrounded by their family, friends and loved ones, the participants in FilGrad Maui 2024 will thank those who provided them with support, love, help and inspiration in their path to a college degree. The celebration will highlight the rich history and contributions of Filipinos in Hawai‘i.
Sadly, the rate of Filipino college graduates in the United States is far different from that in the Philippines, with only fifty percent of entering first-year college students receiving a college degree.
Sponsorships are available to assist UHMC Kabatak Club in this most worthy endeavor as funds are needed to hold this event. Sponsorship levels are Royalty ($500-$1,000+); Kaibigan ($100-$499); and Bayanihan ($5-$99). For more information on the sponsorship, please contact filgradmaui@gmail.com.
