People, Events, Places (PEP)

by Susan Palmes-Dennis   Rockingham, North Carolina—To Filipino-Americans in the Carolinas, please show your love and support to Dance Team Philippines 2021 as they compete in the much awaited Asian Festival (Search for the Asian Festival Performing Arts) on Saturday, Oct. 23. Tonette Asay, overall chairperson of Dance Team Philippines 2021, made this announcement as she disclosed that their contingent will perform a Royal Dance, a form of Singkil that recounts the ordeal of Princess Gandingan who was kidnapped by a diwata (guardian spirits) while traveling. The ‘Singkil Dance’ shows the dancers getting entangled with vines, bamboo or anything in their path. The dance was popularized by the Bayanihan Dance Troupe of the Philippines.  Philippine legend said the dance is adapted from the Maranao people that lived in the shoreline of Lake Lanao. The dancers skillfully manipulate the fan which represents the wind while the scarf represents the waves of the lake. The clacki...

by Susan Palmes-Dennis ROCKINGHAM, North Carolina---It was a nice early autumn afternoon at Morning Glory Farm where the wedding of now Mr and Mrs. Patrick Hang (née Genevieve Megan Cordery) was held last Oct. 2. And do I have stories to tell:  For starters, the wine served as toast to the newlyweds was gifted by the bride to her Dad about 15 years ago. The story went like this; On the bride’s 13th birthday, the Cordery family took a trip to Biltmore House/ Estate at Asheville, North Carolina. Genny had some money to spend but instead of buying something for herself, she bought wine for her Dad Richard.   Of course she was asked if she was old enough to drink. But the smart girl that she is, Genny simply told the clerk she wanted to buy wine for her Dad. Genny’s gesture showed just how much she loves and knows her father who loves wine.  ‘For you Dad,’ Genny told her father Richard who replied that he would drink it when she got married. The promise was made at the b...

By Susan Palmes-Dennis Rockingham, North Carolina---The heavens agreed and the angels came out playing their lyres and blaring their trumpets to welcome the happy union between Genevieve Megan Cordery and Patrick Hang. The couple said their ‘I do’s’ last Saturday in the presence of family and friends.  The chosen wedding venue, Morning Glory Farm, was perfect for the occasion not because of the present pandemic situation but to allow the attendees to commune with nature while listening to the beautiful music selection played as a prelude to the ceremony.  The stage was adorned simply with just the top and side columns with flowing white cloth. The trees and the pond in front of the guests made for the perfect backdrop for the occasion.  Genny, a beauty title holder and model looks radiant as she marched with her left arm hooked to the arms of her doting father Richard ‘Rich’ Cordery to the tune of ‘Somewhere In Time’. Genny carried her bouquet on her right arm and everyon...