2026 edition of Lapu-Lapu Day festival to be held at Vancouver’s Italian Cultural Centre | CBC News
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The organizers of the Lapu-Lapu Day festival have announced that the 2026 edition of the event will be held at Vancouver’s Italian Cultural Centre next month.
Filipino B.C. says the Lapu-Lapu Day of Togetherness event will be held on April 19, just under a year after a car-ramming killed 11 people and injured dozens more at the festival on April 26, 2025.
In the months since the tragedy, Filipino B.C. said the 2026 edition will look different compared to previous iterations of the event, which celebrates Filipino culture and is named after a Filipino chief who fought against Spanish colonization.
The chair of Filipino B.C., RJ Aquino, is calling for more government support for the victims of Vancouver’s Lapu-Lapu Day festival tragedy. He said survivors and victims’ families are still struggling six months after the killings.
Céline Loriot, the organization’s board director, said it will focus on reflection and communal healing.
“Everyone grieves differently, and our decision to move forward with this version of the gathering came from reflecting on the range of community needs,” she told CBC News.
“We weighed safety and responsibility, and recognized that many people still see value in having a space to come together, heal in their own ways and highlight Filipino culture.”
To honour the lives lost at the Lapu-Lapu Day festival tragedy in April this year, one Filipino Canadian artist is taking it upon herself to create a mural in remembrance of the victims.
Loriot said the event would be rooted around the Filipino concept of bayanihan, referring to collective care and helping one another.
She said the Italian Cultural Centre on Slocan Street in East Vancouver provided a welcoming environment for that healing to occur, and safety was a top priority for organizers.
“We have those controlled access, defined entry points, trained security personnel and co-ordination with emergency services — as well as on-site support available to attendees throughout the event,” Loriot said.
“And most importantly, we’re also going to have mental health service providers who will be available throughout the day.”
Mario Miceli, the executive director of the Italian Cultural Centre, said it was “very easy” for his organization to offer its space to Filipino B.C. for the event.
“At this point, the Filipino community doesn’t have a place to celebrate. So we offered our facility so they could celebrate here,” he said.
“For us, the Italian and Filipino community share a deep understanding of resilience and of how culture, family and community really help us support one another through painful and difficult moments,” he added.
The Lapu-Lapu Day festival saw its first iteration in Vancouver in 2024. Both the 2024 and 2025 editions were held on Fraser Street in South Vancouver.
In addition to the day of togetherness event, Loriot said Filipino B.C. will also host a separate memorial gathering on April 26, one year after the car-ramming, and more details would be provided soon.
Kai-Ji Adam Lo has been charged with 11 counts of murder and 31 counts of attempted murder in relation to the car-ramming.
It prompted an outpouring of support for B.C.’s Filipino Canadian community, as well as calls for more government supports for those affected.