Preparation for the Long Beach Filipino Festival
When Pamana Kali was invited to present a Kali demonstration on the main stage at the Long Beach Filipino Festival, I immediately said yes without looking at my calendar. Of course we want to do it. It's an opportunity to promote the classes we teach at Kubo Collective in Bixby Knolls. It shows that we are a part of the community. I didn’t realize it conflicted with my plans to visit San Francisco that weekend for Gongsters Paradise. This is an event I’ve been waiting for all year! I can’t think of a better way to learn more about Filipino culture than spending the day with culture bearers enjoying Filipino Cultural music featuring the kulintang. Well, Gongsters Paradise will have to wait till next year.
As soon as we were confirmed I let the Bixby Knolls Kuyas know about the event and how important it is for us to participate. We don’t really have a performance set for events like this. We often show up and adjust our plans according to who is able to join us on stage. We often feature the kids because they are just so darn cute. They are also the majority of our students. Pamana means Heritage. The kids are our most important students. The school exists to pass on the cultural treasure of Filipino Kali to the next generation.
Sometimes everything goes the opposite direction of what you planned. I hoped to keep our Saturday classes at headquarters on as scheduled. That changed due to a last minute filming opportunity for one of our Kuyas. He was supposed to teach the sparring class for me while I promoted our school in Long Beach. Class cancelled. He’s super reliable and is always ready to help when needed, so it was easy for me to say go to it. We can hand one cancelled class for a special event.
It really is hard to do everything all at once. These events are important, but they take enormous effort and cost a lot of money. I received last minute information that I would have to provide our own pop up vendor canopy, tables, and chairs. That meant a morning run to Costco and Home Depot. All while taking care of my son who is sick at home with covid. One of our Kuyas came through last minute when I called for help picking up our new stock of shirts from our supplier.
For the most part the Kuyas and Guros at Pamana Kali ran the ship without me for that last month because I was traveling and teaching tour in Canada and in other states. It feels good to know they have my back. It just shows me it is even more necessary to establish systems for Pamana Kali to operate with me as the administrator and not the owner/operator who does everything. As we grow I will have to delegate more responsibility to the team so I can continue to promote the school and build the brand.
