UCSB Filipinos will gather in song, dance and theater to celebrate their culture this weekend.

The 12th annual Pilipino Cultural Night, to be held at Campbell Hall at 4 p.m. Saturday, will consist of a presentation of the theatrical production “Two Worlds Apart: Eskarp of the Heart.” The production will include acting, a choir, cultural Pilipino dancing and hip-hop dancing.

Pilipino Culture Night coordinator Lawrence Llave said the word “eskarp,” used in the title, is a play on the way a person with a Pilipino accent would say the word “scarf.” He described the story as a “romantic comedy.”

“The production has evolved a lot from past years,” Llave, a third year philosophy and psychology double major, said. “It used to be a bunch of skits; now it’s a theatrical production with stage lighting and sets.”

Llave said he expects 400-600 people to attend but that the event has filled Campbell Hall’s 800-seat capacity in past years. The production will last two to three hours, with intermissions.

Each year, the Pilipino Culture Night coordinator, who is elected by the 70-member on-campus organization Kapatirang Pilipino, chooses the year’s program. Llave said anyone who participates in the Pilipino Culture Night production automatically becomes a member of Kapatirang Pilipino regardless of ethnicity.

“We’ve had a more and more diverse crew and cast since the event got more popular in the late 1990s,” he said.

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