Philippine Independence Day Parade

Philippine Independence Day Parade
Philippine Independence Day Parade 2013 Banner
Also called	Philippine Day Parade, Parada ng Kalayaan
Observed by	Filipino people around the world, particularly Filipino Americans
Type	Filipino, Filipino American, Overseas Filipino Cultural
Significance	The celebration of the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain
2016 date	June 5, 2016
2017 date	June 4, 2017

The Philippine Independence Day Parade is a celebration for the Filipino American community in the United States home to more than 3.4 million Filipinos. Its main purpose is to create awareness of Philippine culture and to raise funds for charity projects in the Philippines and the United States.

Philippine Independence, as a celebration in America, has gained cultural awareness prominently after the 21st century began. Earlier generations of Filipino immigrants did not celebrate Philippine Independence in significant ways. Philippine Independence Day is widely celebrated among Filipinos in the United States and is now a major event for many Filipino Americans to rekindle their roots and heritage.

The largest among Philippine Independence celebrations in the United States takes place in New York City every first Sunday of June. The Philippine Independence Day Parade in New York City attracts over 100,000 people.

The 2016 Philippine Independence Day Parade in New York City took place on June 5, 2016, on Madison Avenue, following the tradition of the celebration being on the first Sunday of June.

Together with the Filipino American community, the Philippine Consulate General in New York created the Philippine Independence Day Committee (PIDC) to commemorate the birth of Philippine Independence.

Established in 1990 during Consul General Hermenegildo Garcia's term, PIDC is an ad hoc committee with a life cycle of one year. All consuls general would later become honorary overall chairperson. The position of overall chairperson is elected every year. The winner in the election will then appoint the rest of her/his executive committee.

At first, the theme of each year's celebration is handed down from the Government of the Philippines in Manila. Later on, the overall chairperson chooses the theme for her/his term. The coat of arms of the Republic of the Philippines is the centerpiece of the PIDC logo and PIDC's official address is that of the Philippine Consulate in New York. Checks payable to PIDC are mailed to and received by the Philippine Consulate and handed over to PIDC. All PIDC meetings, with rare exceptions, are conducted at the Consulate.