September 20, 2013 (LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM) – The annual “Barrio Fiesta sa London” in the United Kingdom (UK) continues to hit the mark as the biggest Filipino event outside the homeland as over tens of thousands of Pinoys trooped to the Apps Court Farm near Hampton Court, Walton-on Thames in July for homegrown festivities and entertainment they surely missed.
Tens of thousands of Pinoys in the UK and nearby cities filled the Apps Court Farm, a venue much larger than last year’s Lampton Park, on July 21 and 22. As early as dawn, kababayans started filling the park venue for a chance to see their favorite Kapamilya stars and for a taste of food and fiesta from the country they call home.
Bannering the “29th Barrio Fiesta sa London” on day 1 was one of the Philippines’ biggest love teams , Kim Chiu and Xian Lim who thrilled both the young and young-at-heart with their rendition of breakthrough artist Jireh Lim’s viral hit “Buko.” Joining the love team was another viral hit Blake, who sang their biggest covers to date.
Providing entertainment for both dates were “Queen of Teleserye Theme Songs” Angeline Quinto and “Be Careful With My Heart” beloved yaya, Doris “Tart” Carlos. Carlos who was feverish then, performed to the hilt, not showing the slightest hint of feeling a bit under the weather.
Highlighting the second, equally successful day 2 was the presence of much-talked about stars Vice Ganda, Maja Salvador and Richard Gomez. Box office phenomenon and multi-talented artist Vice Ganda left the crowd in stitches with his comic flair. Gomez from the equally phenomenal “Walang Hanggan” thrilled the female crowd as he sung the teleserye’s theme song with the same title. Meantime, Salvador shared a peek of her 10th anniversary concert which she first performed back in Manila, much to the delight of fans.
The crowd went wild as Lim, Quinto, Salvador, and Gomez came down from the high stage to get closer to the crowd.
Vice Ganda and Salvador also pulled lucky audience members to the stage. Aside from these opportunities, raffle winners of TFC’s event promo were treated to exclusive meet and greets with the stars as well as gift packs and discounts from TFC and myREMIT.
As part of the Filipino cultural showcase, Philippine Centre members and local talents, including TFCKat Europe finalists, performed songs and dances from home. Meantime, authentic Filipino food and aroma filled colorful booths at the area.
Managing Director for ABS-CBN Europe Ltd. (official distributor of ABS-CBN content in the continent) Edgardo Garcia said: “We at TFC and Philippine Centre were both expecting this year’s ‘Barrio Fiesta sa London’ to continue the tradition of Filipino fiesta for a massive crowd but we were pleasantly surprised to see that the annual event has broken new records once again. While this raises the bar for future ‘barrio fiestas,’ this challenge provides us the opportunity to explore more ways to give the annual tradition a whole new twist to excite our Filipino audience.”
Vice-Chairman of the Philippine Centre Board and Hermano Mayor Joseph Parinas, said: “We did it in 2012 and we did it again this year. Since we started, the ‘Barrio Fiesta sa London’ has ceaselessly improved through time. This year, we are more than happy to be doing this again with Kapamilyas who have once again proven that we joined the right family – TFC. We look forward to more ‘barrio fiestas’ with TFC.”
The “Barrio Fiesta sa London” is part of TFC and Philippine Centres’ continuing partnership to bring the best of the Filipino to Kapamilyas in Europe. Catch Chiu on “Wanspanataym” and ASAP 18,” Quinto and Salvador on “ASAP 18,” Carlos on “Be Careful With My Heart,” and Vice Ganda at “Gandang Gabi Vice” and “Showtime” plus Gomez and Lim’s recently concluded teleseryes on TFC’s official online service TFCtv. Connect with fellow global Kapamilyas at facebook.com/KapamilyaTFC
