Hawai’i's Filipino community is bringing traditional games from the Philippines to local families in a friendly competition venue this weekend at the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu.
Local Filipino organizations are hosting the first Palarong Pinoy 2025, an event that aims to preserve cultural heritage while connecting Filipinos in the diaspora through games.
More than 100 people are expected to compete across 16 teams to win a $1,000 cash prize.
Each team plays five games: sipa, a traditional foot game kicking a piece of metal with a straw string; patintero, a strategic tag game on a grid; sungka, a traditional board game using shells; dama, Filipino-style checkers; and tumbang preso, a knock-down-the-can game.
“We want this opportunity for the old folks that grew up in the Philippines to relive their childhood memories and teach the younger generation who've never played these games,” said Andrea Christina Caymo-Kauhanen, executive director of the Filipino Community Center.
Caymo-Kauhanen grew up in Palawan, an island in the Philippines known for its pristine beaches and rainforests. She would knock on her neighbors' doors and ask to play patintero with other kids.
“That's how we built friendships back in the day,” she said. “We didn't have tablets, we didn't have phones. We go to the streets, then line it with chalk and play."
She said she's excited to see different generations come together to play the precolonial games.
“It warms my heart to be able to share this to folks here,” she said. “I'm fortunate enough that I'm familiar with it because I grew up in the Philippines, but it's really nice to have the second and third generations to experience these traditional games that we played in the Philippines.”
The qualifying round will be held on June 29 at the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu from 3-6 p.m.
The top six teams will advance to the championship finals on July 26 at the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu from 1-4 p.m.
To register, click here
