For the last decade, a community group has made the Filipino community feel at home in Yorkton.
The Parkland Filipino Canadian Association Incorporation (PFCAI) started back in 2011 and featured under 100 members in its early days, but it currently has over 500 members.
"We want to establish an environment that nurtures and protects Filipino culture, values, and tradition among our members and the community," said Jenny Baraodian, the president of the PFCAI. "That's really our ultimate goal."
One of the group's biggest events is their Pinoy Fiesta, an annual event they hold in the summer.
"It's a big celebration for us. It's not only for members but also for other Filipino communities as well as our Canadian friends," Baraodian said. "We showcase our culture through food, social gatherings like dances. We have games, a mini-show; it's an all-day event."
The group was unable to hold the event last year, and Baraodian is unsure if they will be able to hold it this year as well, but the Fiesta isn't the only group's event.
"We also have our annual Christmas Party. This is a smaller event; there is like 100 to 200 people that attend," she said. "It's just sharing of food and getting together and having games and prizes."
Another big part of the group is their Basketball league, something they are looking to expand.
"What we want to happen is we want to extend it to other groups into the community. Basketball is mostly for our male members, but we want to involve others like the youth and the women. We are wanting to make that event bigger."
Baraodian said that she was invited to speak at a city council meeting, something she called a 'big step.'
"We were invited to just introduce our community to the Mayor and the City Councillors. That's a big jump in our community because they are acknowledging us," she said. "(We) presented what we are and what we want to do in Yorkton."
She added that she hopes this is the beginning of a good relationship with the City.
"We want to collaborate with the City to meet our mission and vision. There are things we want to happen, not only for our community but just for everyone, to make Yorkton a perfect place for us."
"We want to work for an improvement in services for immigrants, especially newcomers and have recreational activities, which will meet our needs," Barodian continued. "We want to have a venue to accommodate cultural groups. It's sometimes hard to look for a rental place that is going to cater to our big community," she said. "We want to be able to have a place where we can celebrate our culture and celebrate each of our activities, and big enough to accommodate everyone, including non-members."
She added that they would continue to expand and celebrate their traditions, and anyone from any culture is invited to celebrate with them.
