Getting to experience the world in a lifetime can be difficult to accomplish, but being able to have a global experience come to you allows for an opportunity unlike no other. The Pacific Celebration Night (PCN) is a performance put on by the Filipino American Association of Sonoma State University (FAASSU). They will be hosting a large number of cultural dances representing the Filipino and Polynesian cultures. This club is run by students from diverse backgrounds. The performance starts on May 4 at 7:30 p.m in Person Theater. this year they will be celebrating its 10 year anniversary.
With a large and vibrant culture, the Pacific Cultural Club (PCC) has to be accurate in their traditional recreations of dancing style and costume design.
“It takes a lot of practice and, sometimes, research for the dances because they are cultural dances. This is my first year choreographing a dance,” Dedmon said. “I had to do a lot of research to prepare.”
With all the work and dedication to the PCC, freshman Joshua Francisco has to set up a normal routine to balance his busy life.
“Physically, since I am in seven dances I need good endurance. You need to contribute all your energy into it to make each dance the best one.” Francisco continues.
With the physical challenge being the most obvious, being apart of the PCC can make your life very complex and stress-inducing as a student.
“Mentally, balancing the activities of the club with my school work can be hard sometimes, but it’s definitely worth it,” Francisco said.
With many different cultures represented in FAASSU, many members get to bond over the dances as they prepare for the celebration. With a strong sense of community in FAASSU, the members feel proud of making it all the way as a group.
“Dancing with partners, you become really close friends with them and we’ll be there for each other like family,” Francisco said.
As the club makes their final preparations for the celebration night they need those strong bonds with each member of the club.
“With a strong sense of family, the club has created, the members care for each other deeply. I’m Japanese, but they make it feel like a home away from home,” Dedmon said.
The FAASSU club is the largest cultural group at Sonoma State. They represent the Filipino and Polynesian communities while accepting all. Anybody can join, and with a lot of hard work and commitment, the club will showcase a week-long cultural celebration of traditional dances for the Sonoma State community.
“I’m proud that I’m still able to learn about my culture, despite being a non-native born Filipino. I was raised in a predominantly Caucasian background so to be able to learn about my home culture is an honor I get to have,” Zapanta said.
Clubs like the PCC have a great opportunity to make many students that are not Caucasian find a community at Sonoma State. Showing the strength of other cultures its an opportunity for a student to learn about another culture they might know much about. With an emphasis on making this event open and available to all the PCC shows their commitment to Sonoma State is unwavering.
“This event isn’t necessarily meant to differentiate us, but simply to educated the student population at Sonoma State,” Zapanta said.
With an event that has taken months to prepare and offers great insight into a diverse community on campus tickets will be sold a week before May 4. Admission for students is $5 and $10 for the community.
