WAPATO, Wash.- The founding presidents of the Filipino American Community of Yakima Valley began many traditions for their successors to continue. As farmers, it made since for the FACYV to host a harvest dinner at the end of the year.
The annual dinner held firm for 69 years at the Filipino Community Hall in Wapato. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a four-year hiatus fell upon the gathering.
On October 7, the hiatus came to an end.
Members of the Filipino American Community gathered to enjoy conversation, friends and traditional Filipino food.
“You see people that you don’t usually see,” said FACYV President Jim Tabayoyon.
The people gathered around the tables are no strangers to each other. As Don Divina, the Vice President of FACYV, explains, their lives have often been intertwined.
“We grew up on the same street so a lot of us kids were all together when we did things,” said Divina.
As time progresses, the culture of FACYV progresses too. Tabayoyon says there is not a large youth presence at the Community Hall.
That is a trend the presidents are working to build upon. Tabayoyon and Divina say it starts with traditions, including addressing everyone they meet as “auntie and uncle.”
“Try to bring back that tradition of extended family within these walls,” says Divina. “This is really a community safe place.”
Of course, it’s not a Harvest Dinner without the dinner. On the menu was lumpia, lechon kawali, pancit and pinakbet.
The dishes were prepared by different families in the community, allowing diners to experience different preparations of the food many grew up with.
“That’s what we’re looking at is trying to amplify that diversity that the Filipino community in itself has available,” says Divina.
