Asian Journal 04/22/2009 -- Before the April 2009 Filipino Heritage night game with the San Francisco Giants, both LIKHA and boxer Manny Pacquiao took the the field.
Asian Journal writes:
Prior to Pacquiao's ceremonial pitch, the pre-game homeplate ceremony included Hydra Mendoza and other community leaders honoring several Filipino American World War II veterans, the handing of a check donation to a few Filipino nonprofit organizations by the SF Giants organization, and a number by the Likha Pilipino Folk Ensemble.
This is the third Filipino Heritage Night conducted by the SF Giants organization. According to Al Perez, Filipino American Arts Exposition president, about 11,000 Filipino Americans bought tickets to this heritage event, exceeding the combined Filipino Heritage Night events total of 6,500 in 2008.
"This is the largest ever event of the San Francisco Giants that is a heritage night," Perez said. "I think they are going to use this as their template for their heritage nights due to the success. The Giants organization is very, very happy, and they are so easy to work with. In fact, during a post-event survey that the Giants conducted last year, it indicated that 30% of the people who bought tickets to Filipino Heritage Night were first-time attendees to a Giants baseball game. They are pleased that we are bringing new patrons to the game."
