3rd Filial Piety Festival and Award Ceremony -

On June 26th, 2021, CPFWP-USA held its 3rd Filial Piety Festival and Award Ceremony.

We had 60 people participating in-person and 100 people participating online from US, Canada, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. The event consisted of the two parts: the filial piety festival and award ceremony for the Writing & Artwork Contest.

The contest started from April. People living in the US or Canada are eligible to participate. The participants could choose to write an essay or create artwork (painting, calligraphy, video…) with the theme “Thank you, Mom and Dad!”. We chose the three pieces of essays and artwork, respectively, to award. This is our third year of the writing contest and the first year of the artwork contest.

The filial piety festival started with welcoming remarks from Mrs. Amy Yang and Pastor Crescentia DeGoede. Rev. Ker-Shung Lee offered the opening remark. Dr. Robert Beebe and Rev. Dr. Peter Chao offered keynote speeches and spoke about the meaning of filial piety based on the fifth commandment in the Bible. Dr. Chung Sik Yong and Grand Master Samantha Chou offered congratulatory remarks. Dr. Chung Sik Yong mentioned that True Parents brought the concept of filial piety to western world, and through filial piety, we can understand the relationship between Heaven and I. Grand Master Samantha Chou shared how she learned about filial piety from her father and gave us her opinions about the practice of filial piety.

Following the speeches, we had an award ceremony. The awardees of the contest were mostly young people and second generation except one VIP. Hon. Louie M. Valdivia is one of the winners of the artwork contest for his calligraphy:”父母恩情，反哺之情”. The winners shared their articles or artwork to honor their parents during the ceremony. People were touched by their filial hearts.

At the end of the program. Prof. Hwang gave a closing remark, and congratulated those awardees, and encouraged them to be the light of the world. Between the speeches and the award ceremony, we had performances from a children’s choir and a performance from Malaysia and Taiwan. After the program, we provided homemade sandwiches and bubble tea to the participants. People enjoyed lunch time together in the joyful atmosphere.

Hon. Louie M. Valdivia: I am so honored and happy to receive recognition for my calligraphy on Filial Piety. My mother would have been very happy. Unfortunately, she passed away in 1984 and I never got the chance to repay her kindness. I agree with you that harmony and peace begins in the home and spreads outward to the world.

Video, Part 1: https://vimeo.com/569647495

Video, Part 2: https://vimeo.com/569652287