19 July 2017 – Consul General Julius D. Torres of the Philippine Consulate General in Calgary attended the Stampede Agahan and the opening of Max’s Calgary on 16 July 2017, closing the Filipino community’s celebrations of the ten-day Calgary Stampede.

 

The Stampede Agahan, organized by the Philippine Festival Council of Alberta, was held on the grounds of the Centre 17 Shopping Centre in northeast Calgary.  Nearly 4,000 people attended the event, a Filipino take on the traditional Stampede breakfasts held throughout Calgary during its annual Stampede Week.

 

Consul General Torres and his wife, Mrs. Milali T. Torres, helped in serving traditional Filipino breakfast to the attendees, who included Alberta Minister of Community and Social Services Hon. Irfan Sabir, MLA, and Federal Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of Defence Hon. Kent Hehr, MP.

 

Speaking to the event’s attendees, both Minister Sabir and Minister Hehr congratulated the organizers for the success of the Agahan and commended the Filipino community in Calgary for their contributions to both the city and Canada.

 

Consul General Torres and Mrs. Torres were also special guests at the opening of the first Calgary branch of Max’s, the popular Filipino restaurant chain.  Mr. William Rodgers, Executive Director at the parent company Max’s Group, Inc., welcomed Consul General and Mrs. Torres at the restaurant, which is also located in Calgary’s northeast area.  Max’s Calgary is the chain’s second restaurant in Alberta, its first restaurant in the province having opened in Edmonton in 2014.

 

Consul General Torres welcomed the opening of Max’s in Calgary, saying that the restaurant should be popular not only with members of the Filipino community, but with other Calgarians as well, as Filipino cuisine becomes more popular worldwide.