The Philippine Embassy Consular Personnel with First Secretary and Consul Arlene Gonzales-Macaisa joined the Filipino students at the International Pacific College (IPC) during the school’s International Spring Festival 2013 on 28 September 2013. The Filipino students and Ms. Christine Lim, IPC Recruitment Director, met the Embassy Team at the IPC Administration Building to orient them on events at the Festival and the students guided the Team through the various stalls and exhibits to be found at the Festival.

The IPC’s annual International Spring Festival has become an iconic event in Palmerston North, celebrated by the local community and the international community residing in the area. The Festival celebrates the cultural diversity of Palmerston North’s community. The 2013 Festival showcased the multi-cultural diversity of Palmerston North though musical performances, arts and crafts, games, and food. The IPC, in collaboration with Destination Manawatu and the Palmerston North City Council, also featured multicultural exhibitions from Japan, China, and the Middle East.

The Filipino students of IPC supported the food stall of the Filipino community in Palmerston North which featured traditional Filipino foods, such as adodo, bistek Tagalog, pork barbecue, polvoron, and bibingka. The Filipino food stall was popular among the Festival visitors. The multicultural stalls had various activities and items for adults and children to enjoy and the beautiful IPC campus grounds filled with flowers and cherry blossom trees truly embodied the coming of Spring.