SARANAC LAKE — Historic Saranac Lake will host an online discussion about Filipino history and President Manuel L. Quezon, the first democratically elected president of the Philippines, who came to Saranac Lake for his health 80 years ago.

Participating scholars, Luis H. Francia and Manuel Luis “Manolo” Casas Quezon III, will shed light on President Quezon’s important place in the history of the Philippines. The online discussion will be held live on Filipino Independence Day at 6:30 p.m. June 12. Anyone interested in attending the discussion can visit HSL’s website at www.historicsaranaclake.org for the Zoom link.

The discussion is a lead-in to “President Quezon History Day,” a festival planned for Saturday, Aug. 3 in downtown Saranac Lake to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the death of President Quezon in Saranac Lake. Historic Saranac Lake will announce more information about the Aug. 3 festival soon.

The online discussion and planning for the Aug. 3 festival is supported by a Vision Grant from Humanities NY.

Manuel L. Quezon III has been a columnist and editorial writer since 1994, and has served in government. He has also taught journalism, worked in TV broadcasting, and has worked as a museum curator. He is the grandson of President Manuel L. Quezon.

Luis H. Francia is a Filipino American poet, playwright, journalist, historian, and nonfiction writer. He currently works as Adjunct Professor at New York University in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis.

Historic Saranac Lake was founded in 1980, and its mission is to preserve and present area history and architecture to build a stronger community.