Filipino Day Market ATX is marking five years of food, art and community at Austin Beerworks - Sprinkle Valley, with more than 40 local vendors and organizations set to fill the Springdale Road venue starting at noon. The milestone celebration will also include the relaunch of a mural honoring labor leaders Larry Itliong and Al Rojas, with a public rededication ceremony folded into the day's festivities.
From Night Market to Annual Tradition
What started as a Filipino night market has, according to KEYE, grown into an annual celebration spotlighting the creativity, traditions and contributions of the Filipino American community. This year's market will feature more than 40 local vendors and community organizations, offering attendees food, art, merchandise and cultural experiences rooted in Filipino heritage, per the same station's reporting. Jenn Collazo, president of Filipino Young Professionals of Austin, and JJ Mayang, who has served as the event's emcee since it began, joined We Are Austin to discuss the celebration.
The market's organizers describe it as an annual outdoor event built to celebrate Filipino-owned businesses, artists and makers across the city, according to FYP ATX. Expect food vendors, artisan goods and live music throughout the afternoon, the group notes, with live performances and dancing helping bring the celebration to life, the station adds. The event gives small businesses, artists and community groups a chance to connect directly with attendees and share their work, the same report states.
Folklore Takes Center Stage
Returning this year is the Aswang Room, an interactive attraction drawing on Filipino folklore and the supernatural creatures known as aswang in traditional stories. It is one of several ways organizers say the market provides opportunities for Austinites of all backgrounds to experience Filipino culture while supporting local businesses and artists, celebrating Filipino American History Month in the process.
Honoring Two Labor Leaders
Perhaps the most significant addition to this year's market is the relaunch of a mural honoring Larry Itliong and Al Rojas, a tribute the market's organizers are folding directly into the day's programming. The rededication ceremony, free and open to the public, takes place during the market's noon-to-5 p.m. run at Austin Beerworks - Sprinkle Valley, according to The Lunar Foundation. Remarks are expected from Larry Itliong's son, Johnny Itliong, and Al Rojas's daughters, Desirée and Debra Rojas, the foundation says.
Itliong was a Filipino American labor leader who organized the 1965 Delano grape strike and helped launch the United Farm Workers movement, while Rojas was a Latino American labor organizer and UFW co-founder whose advocacy advanced workers' rights and social justice, per the foundation's account. The rededication is part of The Lunar Foundation's AANHPI Visual Histories program, which works to preserve and highlight Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander history through public art.
Grant Support and Nonprofit Roots
FYP-ATX, the nonprofit behind the market, received a City of Austin ACME Elevate Grant to help fund this fifth annual celebration, according to the organization's website. Filipino Young Professionals of Austin was founded in 2017 and has since evolved into a dedicated 501(c)(3) nonprofit built around five pillars: arts and culture, community service, networking, professional development and youth mentorship.
Back in 2024, organizers said their goal was to create a marketplace that amplifies and celebrates the growing Filipino community in Central Texas by championing small businesses owned by fellow Kababayan, according to do512.com. That event, also held at Austin Beerworks - Sprinkle Valley, was built to showcase community talent through food, art and other industries and spread awareness of Filipino culture across greater Austin.
Austin isn't alone in marking Filipino American History Month this fall. In Houston, the Filipino American History Month Festival 2026 is set for POST Houston on October 11, featuring a food and drink market with more than 20 vendors, another 20-plus retail vendors, live performances and community organizations sharing resources, according to posthtx.com. That event, like the Austin gathering, is free and open to the community.
