Expectations NOT met:

     On October 5th of this year, I had the opportunity to attend one of San Diego’s biggest events, the FilAmFest’s ninth annual year. The FilAmFest is a Filipino American Arts and Culture festival that is held every year, on a single day in October. During this event, there are live performances, talents, local foods, numerous booths, and shared history. Since this event is held annually, each year has a different theme. Along with the different themes, you are able to spot differences in the event that have may or may have not changed from previous years. 

     I first attended the FilAmFest back in 2011. Therefore, my expectations for the FilAm fest this past October were set pretty high. When I arrived to the fest, I was quite disappointed compared to the previous two years I had attended. First off, there weren’t as many people as I thought would have attended. The first year I attended, it was pretty crowded. Crowded to the point where I did not want to walk around anymore because people kept bumping into me. I would like to think it wasn’t as crowded this year because I went late, which was around 3PM. 

     Not only did the crowd of people disappoint me, but the booths didn’t seem very interested in being there. At least, they could have had people stand outside their booths to invite people to check them out. To me, I felt like they were just there to fill up space. That sounds a bit harsh, but it’s true. 

     The food also disappointed me. Since it was a Filipino American fest, I would have thought there was going to be a variety of food. Food is such a big thing to the Filipino culture, and not having much choices there wasn’t a good look. Food plays a huge role in the Filipino culture. It disappointed me that I did not have much to choose from. It would have been nice if they had more Filipino food choices there instead of L&L and Mexican food, not that I have anything against them. 

     One thing that the fair organizers could have done better was to put the theme to better use. The theme for the fest was the Unsung heroes. I didn’t feel the theme of the fest, nor did I see it. They could have had posters or pictures out in the entrance to catch more attention or to grab the theme more firmly.