Despite temperatures reaching 105°F, Angelenos still attended this year’s UbeMangoFest on Oct. 4. To celebrate its five-year anniversary, UbeFest combined with MangoFest to bring together not only the two foods, but also the people who enjoy eating them.
Over 40,000 festivalgoers made their way to the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts for a celebration of Filipino culture. With over 120 vendors in attendance, live music and photo opportunities, this event provided a space for the community to celebrate during Filipino Heritage Month.
Unlike other food festivals in Los Angeles, like the 626 Night Market, UbeFest has always been free to attend. For the team behind UbeFest, being accessible has always been a priority.
“It’s really playing around with a lot of price points and talking to people and trying to make it be where it’s affordable on all ends,” UbeFest founder James Oreste said. “We felt like having it free is better for all of us to sacrifice, to charge more, earn less than charge at the door. We felt like the whole idea is really accessible. It’s working too.”
UbeFest has also always been a place for small businesses. The idea of collaborating across multiple cultures, foods and products began with a favor Oreste gave to his friends during the pandemic.
The Happy Note Company, a family craft and crochet business, welcomed a slower-paced day as temperatures reached triple digits. Dolores Loaeza mans the booth with her sister at festivals across Southern California, and their mom is the creator behind the crocheted products they advertise.
“It was because of my mom that we started this business,” Loaeza said. “She’s been kind of teaching us everything, and in a way, I do feel like it’s been a way to deal with everything that’s been going on in this political state of the world right now.”
Prioritizing accessibility for all parties involved in the festival also allows these businesses to appreciate the festival without being overwhelmed by a large vendor fee.
“With ICE and everything related to Trump and all of the horrible stuff that’s going on, it’s being at home, crafting and being able to share that with other people that has been very healing to us,” Loaeza said.
Similar to The Happy Note Company, many of the vendors were family-owned and family-operated. Ube Area sold “ubento” boxes, a play on traditional bento boxes, filled with ube-flavored pastries. Juri Pulido, a second-year student at California State University, Northridge, said he was returning to vending with his family for another day at the festival after a busy day prior.
“It’s a lot better than having a traditional festival where it’s different types of food,” Pulido said. “When it’s more Filipino-focused, there’s a sense of community where it’s really nice to see everyone show out.”
Besides food and trinket vendors, a portion of the festival space included booths from the city of Cerritos and Long Beach. One of the booths represents the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce Cerritos and Gateway Cities, and Vice President of Internal Membership Sue Ann E. Tumakay handed out flyers helping to promote Filipino small businesses.
“This is important to us because it showcases the Filipino culture, the pride, the food, the talent, and it brings everybody together, not just Filipinos, but it’s here for the whole community,” Tumakay said. “It’s kind of like a big party, right?”
Even with the heat, festival attendees said they were able to enjoy everything that UbeFest stands for when it comes to spreading awareness about Filipino culture and showcasing a variety of food and products that might not be easy to find elsewhere.
“It’s really cool seeing different people with their arts and crafts,” event-goer Hilary Montes said. “It’s really tempting wanting to buy everything. I’ve never been to an ube festival, so I think it’s really interesting seeing different cultures.”
While it may have been UbeMangoFest this time around, Oreste is determined to keep the idea of UbeFest fresh and unique. With the next quarterly event approaching in December, keep an eye out on the official UbeFest Instagram page to see what the next festival might include.
“Even for me, being Filipino and in Long Beach, the expectation is always, ‘oh, Filipinos are on the west side, so they need to be in the west side’ or ‘Filipinos need to do events in Carson’ or need to go where we’re supposedly safe,” Oreste said. “But I’m all about wherever large city events happen, we want to be there too.”
Edited by Justin Ha