Philippine Tribute Features State Yo Yo Championships

Ocean City will present its 6th Annual Tribute to the Philippines this Saturday, July 18th. Opening ceremonies are set for 9 a.m. in front of the Music Pier, Boardwalk and Moorlyn Terrace. Michele Gillian, Executive Director of the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce, will join Consul General Mario de Leon, Jr. of the Philippines. The two will discuss on-going cooperation and mutual projects.

Following opening ceremonies there will be entertainment on the Boardwalk in front of the Pier. This will include the Rowan University Filipino dancers, the Mutya Philippine Dance Company and the PCS Youth Company groups.

Representing the City and American music will be Rock ‘n Roll Hall Of Fame member Dick Richards and his Ready Rockers. Richards was the original drummer of Bill Haley’s Comets and was also a featured actor on Broadway and in TV and movie productions. He will present a rousing program of Rock favorites. International vocalist, Rene P. Sese, will perform with the band.

An exhibition of Filipino Crafts, Foods, Goods and Services will be featured from
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the pavilion area of the Music Pier. Filipino nurses will offer blood pressure and blood sugar testing. Admission is free.

A new feature of the event will be the New Jersey State Yo Yo Championships that will be held inside the Music Pier during the day and conclude with the final Free Style Championships starting 8 p.m. Admission is free to the event. The popular Yo Yo was invented in the Philippines and means “Return! Return! in its language.

The State Championships are hosted by Air Circus Kite Shop. The colorful owner of the shop, Doug Jewell, is a world renowned Yo Yo performer. He and his team will be entertaining on the Boardwalk and in the Pavilion area during the day. Jewell was responsible for bringing the State event to Ocean City.

“This will be a fun day of free entertainment that will be highlighted by the informative exhibition” noted Sese, a native of the Philippines and resident of Ocean City. Sese was instrumental in the formation of a Sister City relationship between his home town, San Jose Occidental Mindoro and Ocean City. Thousands of Filipinos now live in the Northeast Corridor of the United States and represent a new visitors market for Ocean City.