July 1, 2025 –Filipino-Canadian friends of the Surrey Public Library, in partnership with the Surrey Public Library (SPL), will launch a first ever Filipino-Canadian Author/Artist FeatureChildren’s Book showcasing Jesse the Dragosaur by Vancouver artist and author Danvic Briones.
Information for this event can also be accessed on the Surrey Public Library's website:
https://surreylibraries.ca/events/filipino-canadian-childrens-book-launch-jesse-dragosaur
This book launch for children of all ages and their families is at the SPL on July 19 from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM. There will be storytelling, book signing, art exhibits, performances, and refreshments.
The event, titled “Filipino-Canadian Children’s Book Launch: Jesse the Dragosaur” highlights the book and paintings of Danvic Briones (https://www.artbydanvic.com/), a Vancouver-based mixed-media artist, chef, youth worker, collographist, entrepreneur, and expressive arts therapist who finds inspiration in the vivid memories of his childhood and the rich tapestry of nature and cultures from Canada and the Philippines. All these add to Danvic’s distinctive style in art that involves carving and engraving to create intricate bas-reliefs, which he paints with a palette of vibrant hues, grooved and multi-layered.
Danvic's first illustrated book, Jesse the Dragosaur, showcases his distinctive style in a playful and evocative way fitting a jolly character, Jesse, who promotes self-growth and believing in one's self while teaching about identity or belonging.
Jesse the Dragosaur is neither a dragon nor a dinosaur. He is a dragosaur, a fun-loving, happy, and friendly creature in the colourful deep blue sea. Although Jesse's confidence crumbles because some of the fishes thought he was different and strange, Jesse realized - through the help of his friends - that it did not matter what Jesse is. Jesse is proud of what Jesse is!
Danvic’s exhibitions, both solo and group, have been shown in BC and across Canada, Philippines, Europe, and the United States. A number of his works will be exhibited at the book launch.
The aim of this event is to raise the profile of Filipino-Canadians in the fields of literacy and arts. About 39,290 Filipinos in Surrey represent 7.0% of the city’s total population in British Columbia as per the 2021 Statistics Canada data. The Filipino-Canadian community continues to grow and enliven their engagement in Surrey.
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