Join us in celebrating the
Filipino Community of Seattle's
90th Anniversary Gala
on Saturday, November 1, 2025
at the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington
For 90 years, the Filipino Community of Seattle (FCS) has been a galvanizing force and a cultural touchstone for thousands of Filipina/o/x and Filipino Americans throughout the Puget Sound region. We are building new programs in response to growing needs, and we are sustaining older programs to maintain our commitments to all of our members. Together, we can build a better, more welcoming, and thriving community.
Program
6:00 PM
Cocktail Hour & Silent Auction
7:00 PM
Dinner & Live Auction
"Fund a Need" Paddle Raise
9:00 PM
Music & Dancing
We are excited to bring this extraordinary evening to you anchored by our Guest Speaker, Aisha Ibrahim, Award-Winning Chef & Culinary Visionary!
AISHA IBRAHIM, GUEST SPEAKER
Chef Aisha Ibrahim is a trailblazing Filipina chef known for redefining fine dining through a lens of cultural heritage, precision, and innovation. In 2021, she became the first woman, first Filipino, and first queer executive chef at Seattle’s iconic Canlis, one of the city’s most celebrated restaurants. There, she wove her southern Philippine roots and global culinary experience into a bold new era for Pacific Northwest cuisine.
A former Division I athlete whose injury led her to pursue the culinary arts, Aisha found parallels between high-level sports and fine dining—teamwork, rhythm, and relentless pursuit of excellence. Her work has earned her national recognition, including being named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs of 2023, a Time 100 honoree, and a James Beard Award semifinalist. Now, Chef Aisha is preparing to open her own restaurant, one that reflects her heritage from the southern Philippines—regions often underrepresented in modern Filipino cuisine in the U.S. With Michelin-level ambitions, she is forging a path that centers identity, storytelling, and world-class hospitality.
CHORAL ARTS NW, GUEST PERFORMERS
Founded in 1994, Choral Arts Northwest (CANW) has been led by the dynamic Dr. Timothy Westerhaus since 2022. We inspire, educate, and connect our community through the transformational power of choral music, bringing people together across cultures and experiences. Our performances are more than concerts—they’re opportunities to learn, listen, and collaborate. Recent highlights include partnerships with the Ukrainian refugee community and International Rescue Committee, the Korean community, Birds Connect Seattle, and The Filipino Community of Seattle. This season, we’re honored to join TheFilipino Community in celebrating their 90th anniversary with music that unites hearts and uplifts voices.
ARNALDO INOCENTES, EVENT EMCEE
Founder of the Pacific Northwest Cabaret Association and Executive Producer of the Seattle Cabaret Festival. He started with Seattle Men's Chorus SMC) and performed with SMC in major concert halls around the world as a soloist. Arnaldo is also the Co-Executive Director of Pride ASIA, was past co-chair for Filipinos at Microsoft (FAM), and currently an advisory board FAM member. He is also a recipient of the New York Bistro Award (2008), GAWAD Musika Award for Most Innovative Concert Artist in Manila (2014), Filipino Community of Seattle (FCS) Lifetime Achievement Award for Arts & Culture (2016), GenPride Rainbow Community Pillar Award (2022) and recently, the International Examiner's Community Voice Award for Culture & the Arts (2024).
CHRISTINE DECASTRO, EVENT AUCTIONEER
Professional Benefit Auctioneer, is a vivacious go-getter committed to driving fundraising to an entirely new level for well deserving organizations. A graduate of the World Wide College of Auctioneering, a member of the National Auctioneers Association and a Benefit Auctioneer Specialist (less than 1% of Auctioneers throughout North America maintain this specialized designation and training in benefit auctions), Christine loves to have fun and ensures that donors do too! She holds a Political Science degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has nearly 20 years of sales and marketing experience. She is an avid volunteer who is passionate and ready to WOW your donors! Christine believes every benefit auction should leave you with a happy heart knowing that, together, you did your part to elevate your favorite organization to its highest potential.
THE FILIPINO COMMUNITY OF SEATTLE
We were born out of a time of great racial strife and segregation; when people of color were barred from owning property in many portions of Seattle; a time when communities of color turned to each other for social, cultural and civic support. Over the years, we have helped to shape and enrich the Greater Seattle community we know today, and to provide leadership on many issues of civil rights, social justice, and culturally appropriate and relevant response to basic needs. We are especially proud to be one of our community’s longest-standing, most impactful, people of color-led organizations, and one of the first Filipinx organizations in the nation.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
On behalf of the Filipino Community of Seattle, we respectfully acknowledge the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the Duwamish, past and present, whose unceded land we are on. It is with humility that we express our gratitude to all members of the Duwamish Tribe for sharing with us the richness of their land. Maraming salamat po!
