Kapwa's Back to the Block day party comes to Footscray Community Arts on 21 November

Kapwa, the Melbourne event series founded by Isa Bautista to bring Filipino-Australians together through music and food, holds its Back to the Block outdoor day party at Footscray Community Arts on Saturday, 21 November, with DJs and producers from Australia and New Zealand, market stalls and Filipino food.

Kapwa, a Melbourne-based creative platform and event series grounded in the Filipino values of kapwa and bayanihan, is holding Back to the Block at Footscray Community Arts on Saturday, 21 November, from 3pm to 10pm AEDT, according to its Humanitix listing.

The listing describes the event as Kapwa's return to Melbourne's West: an outdoor day party bringing together DJs and producers from Australia and New Zealand, market stalls and food vendors. Filipino food will come from Say Cheese Footscray, and market stalls are still to be announced.

The listing names John Bulay (AKL), Ellen Rose (SYD), Babydocs (SYD), J9 (live), Mac Mayor, Lamaroc9, Khaisia and 1SA among the featured DJs, artists and producers.

About Kapwa

SBS Filipino profiled the series on 6 November. Kapwa was founded by Isa Bautista, a Pinoy-Chilean-Aussie who wanted to bring Pinoy-Aussies together through music and food. Pinoy-Aussie DJs take turns during the parties, and at times guest Pinoy DJs from overseas take part.

Kapwa parties are organised around Australia, but the very first was at Section 8 in Melbourne, SBS Filipino reported. The events are open to all ages, including children, because they start in the afternoon and run until late at night.

Bautista told SBS Filipino why she chose the name Kapwa:

Kapwa, as a representation of togetherness and shared identity, is something I wanted to bring to life in any event I was part of, because I think music and kapwa go hand in hand. If you look at cultures around the world, not just Filipino culture, music can facilitate kapwa and bring it to life.

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