Student Blog: Experiencing Italy, Philippine, and Greece, All in One City

Summer in Vancouver means a lot of festivals. And one of the best things about Vancouver is, it’s multicultural. So, obviously, when summer arrives, you can expect a lot of cultural festivals popping up around the city. It almost feels like, you get to travel to multiple countries just by using your bus pass. I went to three cultural festivals in June alone, and I would like to share some highlights in this blog.

The first cultural festival that I went to was Italian Day. It was a fun-filled festival. As you can expect, there were a lot of Italian foods like pizza, pasta, Italian sausage, and cannoli. There were also a lot of fun shows and activities, including music and dance performances, vintage cars show, fashion show, and pasta eating contest.

Coming to the festival, I knew that Italian Day is one of the biggest and most crowded local festivals, however, I wasn’t prepared for how packed it was! It closed down 12 blocks of Commercial Drive, which is one of the busiest roads in Vancouver. The moment I stepped into the festival, I felt like one of the fishes in the fisherman's net scene from Finding Nemo. There were people's heads everywhere, and I kept bumping into others. At one point, I was even shoved by one of the festival goers, because apparently I was on his way. It was overwhelming at first, but after a few minutes, I figured out the flow of the people and learned how to maneuver through the tents, food trucks, and thousands of people. In the end, I finally got to enjoy the energy and festivity of the event.

The second cultural festival that I went to was the Pinoy Festival, which celebrated Filipino culture. I was so excited about this one for two reasons. First, I’m from Indonesia, and our culture, arts, and food are quite similar, so it might feel a bit like home. Second, I went with a Filipino friend, so I had an expert to help me navigate the event.

The moment I stepped into the festival, the smell of barbeque wafted into my nose. Of course, that’s where we’re headed first. There were several food vendors selling lumpia, dinuguan, sisig, halo-halo, and a lot more. There were also traditional music and dance performances. But the highlight for me was the traditional outfit/beauty pageant competition. I saw a lot of young women wearing pretty dresses, crowns, and sashes that said “Reyna” (which means “Queen” in Tagalog). And each Reyna actually brought her own troop that held banners and flowers around her. If that doesn’t make you feel like a queen, I don’t know what will. In the end, we stayed there until the festival was over, and we went home with a nice memory and a full stomach.

The last cultural festival that I went to was Greek Day on Broadway. It was actually held a day after the Pinoy Festival, so I was pumped for another fun day. There were vendors selling traditional foods like gyro, souvlaki, loukomades, and baklava. But the highlight for me was seeing people wearing traditional outfits. I saw women in traditional dresses taking pictures at the photo booth. There were people on stilts, rocking Greek-inspired robes and crowns. And I got to watch a performance by the Minotavri Dance Group up close, so I got to see all the details of their costumes. The Greek festival was actually the most fun festival that I went to, because it was big but not as crowded as the other ones. I got to walk around and see everything comfortably, and that’s a plus.

These festivals were so much fun, and I want more of it! And now that I’ve been to three, I know what to expect so I can be more prepared. If you are planning to go to similar festivals, here are some tips that I can share.

First, bring earplugs. When there’s a performance happening, a lot of people would flock around the stage. Most of the time you can’t really choose where to stand because people will try to claim the best spot. And if you’re not quick enough, you might get stuck standing in front of the giant speaker. Earplugs can help protect your ears from blasting music, so you can still enjoy the performance comfortably. 

Second, if you are planning to eat traditional foods at the festival, pack a huge amount of patience. These kinds of vendors will definitely have long lines. It will take a while until you get your food. My friends spent two hours in line to get sisig at the Filipino festival. And I stood in line at the Italian festival for a long time, just to find out that they’re out of cannoli. If you’re determined to stand in line for the food, bring some snacks so you won’t get hangry when waiting.

And lastly, if you are planning to use public transportation, be ready to wait. With the huge number of festival goers, there will be delays. If you do not like waiting for the bus for too long, you can plan alternative modes of transportation. Rideshare apps are a good option. I saw a lot of people bringing their bicycles. Or, you can do what I did. I took buses that stopped a few blocks away from the festival. These bus routes were not impacted by the festival, and they're a lot less crowded, because many festival goers didn’t want to walk to these bus stops after spending the whole day at the festival.

Going to three cultural festivals made me so grateful to live in such a multicultural city. It’s really fun to learn about other cultures. Not only did I gain appreciation for other cultures, it’s also very inspiring. I have already researched the next festivals that I want to go to, including Taiwanese, Latin American, and South Asian festivals. If you happen to be in Vancouver during these festivals, maybe I’ll see you there!