'100 per cent Filipino products': Saskatoon Filipino community hosts first trade show for a good cause

The Studio at Midtown Mall was host to the first edition of the Proudly Pinoy Filipino Trade Show this weekend.

With local vendors selling Filipino-themed items and getting extra exposure in the mall’s multi-purpose space, the event also raised money for a worthy cause.

“It’s called Proudly Pinoy Filipino inspired Trade Show,” said event organizer Joseph Amodia, founder of the Filipino Community Foundation of Saskatchewan.

“So we are 100 per cent Filipino products here, and I’m so thankful for my co-Filipino countrymen for supporting this event.”

Featuring treats, clothes, crafts, beauty products and more, it’s raising money for Melissa Cordon. The Saskatoon resident needs to make an important trip back to the Philippines.

“We have a fundraiser here for Chay,” Amodia told CTV News.

“Chay needs a kidney transplant so this table is fundraising for Chay to go back to the Philippines.”

With waiting lists over five years long in Canada, Cordon has found a donor match back home. To help offset the costs associated with the trip, they’re selling fun kidney-themed shirts, bags and crafts.

“So when you buy a shirt or a pen, all the proceeds will go to her trip,” said Camille Camantigue. “Hopefully you can join us and support our fundraising effort.”

With design ideas from a friend back in the Philippines, the pair has printed the shirts locally.

“This one says ‘You gotta be kidney me,’ she needs a kidney so this is a really cute bag,” said Camantigue.

While Cordon loves all the designs, one shares an important theme making it Cordon’s favourite.

“No one fights alone,” she said. “Just a lot of people have supported us, so we’re just overwhelmed by the support from our friends and the community as well.”

While this is the first event for Amodia’s foundation, he says he’s got plans for more events in the near future, sharing Filipino and South Asian culture as well as aligning with a good cause.