For nearly 60 years, the Livermore Filipino-American Organization (Livermore Fil-Am) has promoted Filipino-American culture and heritage by providing deliberate community engagements and educational programs in Livermore and neighboring cities. The organization is the only surviving cultural nonprofit of its kind in the Tri-Valley area. The nonprofit was established in 1967 as a community resource for Filipinos and a way for Filipinos in the Tri-Valley to come together.

“Throughout the years, other Fil-Am organizations were created in Pleasanton, Dublin, Danville, and San Ramon,” says Arthur Barinque, Board President of the organization since 2022. “All of the organizations worked together to build a strong Tri-Valley community network. Over the years, each organization dissolved for different reasons. Livermore Filipino-American Organization remains.”

Livermore Fil-Am sponsors a variety of events and programs. For example, it held a Masquerade Ball in February at the Pleasanton Senior Center. Since 1973, the nonprofit has awarded three one-time, non-renewable scholarships for higher education to qualified high school seniors to children of the organization's members. The deadline to apply for consideration for this year is May 2, 2025. This year’s awardees will be celebrated at an awards ceremony on June 8 during Filipiniana, a cultural celebration of dress and history.

Later in the year, the group will hold a Summer Picnic, which also serves as a member appreciation party and back to school event, according to Barinque. “There will be food, music, and traditional Filipino games along with contemporary ones. It is going to be a blast.”

On Sunday, October 5, the group will celebrate Filipino Barrio Fiesta in Downtown Livermore as part of Filipino American History Month. “It is the biggest Filipino cultural celebration in the Tri-Valley,” he says, adding, “It is critical we continue to play a vital role in the Tri-Valley as a cultural nonprofit organization, honoring our Filipino-American history and supporting each other as we move into the future. We continue to spread awareness of culture in the Tri-Valley and make our history here known to greater California. These lands were cultivated by Filipino farm workers and were part of the network of migrant farm workers that traveled from Salinas to Stockton to Sacramento for work. We played a huge role in food and agriculture.”

Among its many activities, the group sponsors a dance troupe, which performs traditional Filipino cultural dances all year at festivals, private gatherings, schools, and more. Barinque notes that the organization welcomes volunteers, new members, new board members, and finding ways to collaborate and partner with other organizations and Tri-Valley businesses as well.

For more information about the Livermore Filipino-American Organization, please visit www.livermorefilam.org, www.facebook.com/livermorefilamorg, or www.instagram.com/livermorefilam.

Photo by Ron Essex Photography