Chicago, IL — March 20, 2012. Celebrate the tradition of the Filipino piyesta at Navy Pier’s Neighborhoods of the World performance series at "Piyesta Pinoy" on Sunday, April 1, 2012 from 12 PM to 5 PM at Crystal Gardens! Admission is free.

While already part of the Chicago Children’s Museum’s yearly Passport to the World series, this is the first time the Philippines is featured at Navy Pier’s Neighborhoods of the World series honoring Chicago’s ethnic neighborhoods and cultural diversity. The famous Crystal Gardens are located on the same floor as the Chicago Children’s Museum. "Piyesta Pinoy" is a landmark opportunity to learn about Philippine culture and traditions, and the meet the community currently living in Chicago.

"Piyesta" is the Filipino translation for celebration, fiesta and festival. In the Philippines, every town and village throws a yearly a festival to honor a patron saint, to celebrate a bountiful harvest or to just have fun. "Piyesta Pinoy" adds to the Chicago Filipino Community’s beloved traditions, usually celebrated in the summer as a reminder of the homeland climate, but acknowledging our adopted country by celebrating in the spring.

"We have several outdoor events in the summer such as the Philippine Independence picnic in June and the Adobofest in September. This will be the first time that we will gather and celebrate in the spring time for a huge Philippine festival and what could be a better place to hold a fiesta in April than indoors in a garden setting at Navy Pier’s Crystal Gardens," said festival organizer Ruben Salazar of the Philippine American Cultural Foundation.

Performances include the Chicago premiere of Universal Records Philippines recording artist Jay R, with additional performances by the Chicago Angklung & Rondalla Ensemble, hip hop dance group Cryptic Movement Crew, De Paul Asian Cultural Exchange, Hataw Pinoy, Hinsdale FilAm SDA Rondalla, hip hop duo IL Empire, Jeremy Calimag, Lane Tech Kapamilya Habang Buhay, Loyola Kapwa Cultural, PACF Performing Arts, folk fusion band SamaSama Project, St. Isidore Simbang Gabi Dance Crew, Sulyap Pilipino Cultural Dance Company, and Transfiguration Dance Troupe. Winners of University of Illinois at Chicago’s Battle of the Bamboo contest are also scheduled to perform! Philippine Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim will give an address. It will be a lively afternoon of music, dance, colorful costumes, authentic cuisine, and local folk arts.

GMA Pinoy TV is bringing R&B singer Jay-R to Chicago from the Philippines to sing in a segment called "Party Pilipinas in Chicago." The Philippines’ Platinum Prince of Soul’s career includes singing, songwriting, record-producing, acting and even modelling. Currently, he hosts GMA Pinoy TV’s variety show "Party Pilipinas", and the host of the Philippine adaptation of dating game show, "Take Me Out". To know more about Jay-R, visit his site at www.jayrsmusic.com and http://www.gmanetwork.com/international.

The Filipino American Community Health Initiative of Chicago (FACHIC) will have an interactive, outreach booth for the whole family with free giveaways including Filipino heart healthy recipes, health education and activities for children.

Philippine Fest Chicago is presented by Navy Pier in partnership with the Consulate General of the Philippines and the Philippine American Cultural Foundation and the sponsorship of GMA Pinoy TV, GMA Life TV, Comcast and Xfinity. The 2012 Piyesta Pinoy committee in collaboration with several other sponsors, donors, supporters, artists, performers and volunteers are working together to make this festival successful. "We would like to invite you, your families and friends to celebrate and be part of a fiesta, the Philippine traditional way we call "Piyesta Pinoy" right here in Chicago at Crystal Gardens in Navy Pier," said Salazar.

For more information, visit the Piyesta Web site at http://bit.ly/piyesta_chicago.

The Filipino American Community Health Initiative of Chicago (FACHIC) is a collaborative of community, health professional, and academic leaders united to address Filipino health issues in the Chicago area. The mission of FACHIC is to increase awareness of Filipino health disparities and to implement health interventions and educational programming to improve the health status of the Filipino community. FACHIC is a 501(c)(3) Illinois nonprofit organization. All programs and services are free and available to all. For more information, visit http://www.fachic.org.