During the initial year of operating his food truck, Auntie Ning’s, co-owner Fred Enriquez handed out free samples of lumpia to every customer. “Nobody knew Filipino food,” he says of those early days.
But since then, diners’ standing orders have evolved from the approachable spring rolls to sour, savory sinigang stew and lechon kawali (fried pork belly), dishes he grew up watching his grandmother make, requiring patience and skill to prepare.
“I’m in year five now, and I’m pretty proud to say most people [who come to Auntie Ning’s] know of Filipino food or have at least tasted it,” he says.
It was the lack of Filipino representation in Richmond that moved Enriquez, originally from Virginia Beach, to lean into his heritage. That same impetus led first-generation Filipino Americans Roxanne Atienza and Aubriel Rivera to found Kasama Collective. Making its debut in March, the local group aims to amplify the voices and cultures of those of Asian American and Pacific Island descent through events ranging from last month’s Mid-Autumn Festival to an anniversary party for Filipino food truck Ato’s Sisig & Grill.
On Saturday, Oct, 28, Kasama Collective, in partnership with the Filipino American Association of Central Virginia, will present one of its largest events to date: the Filipino American History Month Celebration. Held at Main Line Brewery from noon to 5 p.m., the gathering will feature over 40 vendors from food trucks to local makers, along with a little karaoke.
“We really wanted to create something special of our communities and something Richmond had never seen before, which is a big, unapologetic display of culture and tradition and celebration,” Atienza says. “And it’s not a Filipino party without karaoke.”
In their early 30s, both Atienza and Rivera grew up in Virginia Beach and had been acquainted as members of the same youth symphony orchestra. The pair reconnected years later after both landed in…
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