Filipino Festival Brings An Impressive Turn Out to Celebrate Filipino Heritage
The hosts of the 2026 inaugural Filipino Festival in Rush, NY in the greater Rochester region.
On Saturday, July 25, 2026, the Filipino American Association of Rochester (FAAR) hosted the 2026 inaugural Rochester Filipino Festival, the first festival of it’s kind in the greater metro region. The event took place at the Rushwood Barn in Rush, NY a suburb of Rochester, and drew hundreds of families, friends, artists, dancers, performers, karaoke singers, cultural pageant winners, vendors, and a community of people coming together to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the Philippines.
Miss Philippines New York performing at the 2026 Filipino Festival.
From across the metro region, including the Finger Lakes, Syracuse, and other cities in Upstate New York, families, and community members gathered to celebrate Filipino culture. Performances were scheduled throughout the day including a modern Tinikling dance, a Singkil performance, a karaoke contest, a Filipino martial arts presentation, a fashion show, and a performance by Maoy Band.
Syracuse based Filipino Fusion food truck, Oompa Loompyas.
Food vendors came from far and wide to bring traditional Filipino cuisine and desserts to hungry visitors at the festival. Oompa Loompyas, a Filipino Fusion food truck out of Syracuse, New York brought delicious eats like Pork Adobo, Lumpia, garlic-fried rice, Bistek, and Pork BBQ on a stick. With the turn out that amassed at the festival, it is no surprise that they sold out of food within the first few hours of the event. Other food vendors included Finger Lakes Hots, a family-owned regional fusion food truck that brings together delicious Filipino and Puerto Rican flavors. Other vendors included, Pinoy BBQ, S&S Kusina, and Reastu NY. Crowds lined up eager to grab some delicious bites, and even with all of the vendors selling food at the festival, wait times were still significant as attendees stood patiently in line ready to devour all of the cultural offerings. I did miss out on some fantastic looking Halo Halo which sounded great to combat the heat of the warm sunny day. You bet I will be first in line for some sweet treats at the next festival when it comes back around again!
Crowds of people waiting in line for delicious Filipino cuisine at the 2026 Rochester Filipino Festival.
Rochester’s first Filipino Festival drew hundreds if not thousands throughout the day to celebrate Filipino heritage, culture, and cuisine. Before heading out for the day, I learned from some local vendors that turn out was nearly three times more than initially expected which was fantastic to hear. Learning that folks came from far and wide to celebrate at this unique and new Filipino festival meant so much to so many people including the organizers. As I left the festival, it felt great to know that the Rochester Filipino Festival was a major success in terms of turn out, the amount of performances that took place, and the excitement from all who attended. It is with high hopes that I departed from the venue knowing that this was a new tradition in the making, one that will bring others to the Rochester region to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the Philippines for years to come.
