In the Philippines, talipapa is a Tagalog term for a small informal open-air market of vendors selling food and goods. The Filipino Community of Seattle (FCS) kicks off Filipino Heritage Month with its second annual market on Oct. 3 and 4 at FCS, 5740 MLK Jr. Way S. The free event weaves culture and commerce together with food and performance, and it includes many small vendors. In addition to programs for seniors and youth, the organization offers technical assistance and workshops to small businesses. Talipapa Market is a celebration of the community's small businesses and an opportunity for them to show off their skills and wares.
Featured foods will be available from businesses such as Beacon Hill's Musang, Mike's Shave Ice, and Keola's Mochi and Eats. Vendors include Sol's Creations, selling crocheted plushies and lotions, and Ube Books, which feature books about the activities of a purple tuber who's also a nurse. Local music performers will include Roger Rigor, who helped shape 1970s music in the Philippines, Seattle civic poet Dujie Tahat, Filipino dance performances, and, of course, karaoke. Scavenger hunts and a professional photo booth will also be on-site, alongside traditional Filipino games for children.
FCS small business program manager Jan Edrozo was born in the Philippines, grew up on Beacon Hill, and worked as a software developer at Nordstrom before arriving at FCS. She was inspired to work with FCS when she went to a former iteration of Talipapa Market — called Palengke — between 2022 and 2023. "I find strength knowing that the teams we're creating through the platform of small business builds a safety net that builds other initiatives with the community too."
Edrozo said the vendors are part of the Small Business Resiliency Network umbrella, which the state launched in response to the impacts of COVID-19 on small businesses in marginalized communities.
"[Having a small business] has become a safety net for folks who are … navigating the changes in the labor market or immigrant families trying to connect with their culture and their community through small business," said Edrozo.
FCS program director Bennyroyce Royon said the Talipapa Market is also an opportunity to identify the needs of the small businesses that arrive. The FCS small-business program staff can offer help with building a website or considering merchant apps by watching how the businesses market their goods. They may also offer tips on how to set up a vending table.
Royon, who had been a professional dancer and choreographer in New York for 15 years before joining the organization, also said that entertainers at Talipapa Market are given an honorarium. "Artists and creatives are also part of the economy and the community," he said. "To keep artists living and working here, we have to create gig opportunities for them."
As FCS ramped up preparations for the event, the Innovative Learning Center space was piled with tote bags and Talipapa Market T-shirts to gift and sell. FCS has invested in equipment for laser engraving and to transfer designs and images onto T-shirts, mugs, pens, and other items for gifts and swag. FCS hopes to make this a revenue-generating service for the community.
The FCS Information Technology (IT) and Workforce Development Program is directed by Kris Larsen. The program offers IT training and certification for jobs such as help-desk technician, network administrator, and solar installer. Many of those who participate in the program were formerly incarcerated, as the service coordinates closely with the Department of Corrections' reentry division. The program has worked with more than 90 community members over the past two years.
Larsen had been incarcerated for 10 years. "We help individuals getting into the tech field because that's been one of the toughest [industries] to get into," Larsen said. "When individuals get out of prison, they're basically coaxed into going into a warehouse job or working at a recycling company."
Aisha Lilio works at FCS's IT and Workforce Development Program alongside Larsen as a broadband network specialist. She started taking classes there when she was on work release two years ago. Now Lilio teaches classes with Larsen.
Lilio said FCS IT and Workforce Development is "my safe space where I can be me and grow and learn different things. I can actually be myself and have confidence in myself," said Lilio. "I came in here knowing nothing, and here I am, making T-shirts, working solar panels and broadband network installation."
A new cohort of FCS IT and Workforce Development Program participants gathers for classes this month.
City of SeaTac is hosting a Costume Swap donation of gently used costumes, masks, and accessories. Drop-off is in the colorful "monster" boxes in SeaTac Community Center and City Hall during their business hours through Oct. 16.
On Oct 17, you can swap or pick out costumes at SeaTac's Great Pumpkin Night. The event also features a screening of Elio, a family-friendly Disney/Pixar film, and other free activities.
The Great Pumpkin night will be at the SeaTac Community Center, 13735 24th Ave. S., SeaTac, 5–8 p.m.
Up to four free trees are being given away to community members at the Skyway Harvest Festival/Farmers Market and Bazaar on Sunday, Oct. 26, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. The event will be hosted by King County Dare2Be and Dirt Corps.
Eligibility:
Trees must be planted in the ground on private property within the 98178 ZIP code (homes, schools, churches, or businesses).
Get up to four trees per property and a watering bag! NOTE: If you've already received four trees from this program in past years, please let other folks get trees this year.
Renters: Please make sure you have the property owner's permission to plant trees.
Commitment to water and care for your trees.
Reserve your trees online, or pick the trees you want at the event.
Seattle and King County Public Health and the King County Sheriff's Office are hosting a drive-thru gun-buyback event. Participants will remain in their vehicles and be directed to a station for firearm intake and gift-card distribution based on the type of firearm:
$25 for antique firearms, junk guns, inoperable firearms, receivers/frames only, and bump-fire stocks.
$50 for muzzle-loading firearms manufactured after 1941.
$100 for rifles, shotguns, .22LR weapons firearms, and revolvers.
$200 for pistols.
$300 for AR-15s, AK-47s, and machine guns.
$0 for toy guns, BB/pellet guns, homemade firearms, non-firing objects that look like firearms, ammunition, magazines, other ammunition-feeding devices, and firearm accessories, including scopes, optical sights, lights, or other accessories attached to a firearm.
For more information, contact RGV@KingCounty.gov.
This article is published under a Seattle Human Services Department grant, “Resilience Amidst Hate,” in response to anti-Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander violence.
Yuko Kodama is the News editor for the South Seattle Emerald. She is passionate about the critical role community media plays in our information landscape and loves stories that connect us to each other and our humanity. Her weekly "South End Life" column spotlights the stories of neighbors and community members that weave through the South End.
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