Named after the Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal, Sentro Rizal (Rizal Centre) was established by Republic Act 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 to promote Philippine arts, culture and language around the world. To date, there are 31 Sentros Rizal scattered around the world, including two in Canada that opened in May 2018: Ottawa and Toronto.

Vancouver-based Kababayang Pilipino of British Columbia headlines this year’s Scotiabank Dance Centre Open House on September 15 with a special hour-long matinee performance at 2 p.m.

Now on its sixth year, the Winter Escapade Tour will highlight the culture, heritage and history of Batangas and the natural beauty of El Nido in Palawan.

It’s called the Philippine Arts and Social Sciences in the Ontario Curriculum, or Passoc for short.

For Filipino ears, Passoc sounds like the Tagalog word pasok, which means ‘to enter’, and indeed it’s already in.