Experience cultures from around the world on June 16 at the Sunshine Coast Multicultural Festival. Join with community at the Seaside Centre and on the Sechelt Library lawn from 4 to 8 p.m. for performances, crafts, displays, children’s activities and food.
The Multicultural Festival will offer a feast for the senses and a wonderful opportunity to meet people from countries all over the world who are now making their home on the Sunshine Coast.
The first part of the festival takes place from 4 to 6 p.m. when guests can purchase delicious food and drink at the Ethnic Fusion Eatery. Try taquitos from Mexico, Korean pancakes and more. Organizers are proud to launch the new Sunshine Coast Multicultural Cookbook at the festival. The cookbook was created by a group of immigrant women who came together because of their love of cooking and their desire to share cherished recipes from their homelands. The cookbook will be available for a small minimum donation, and some of the cooks will be in attendance with tasty food samples.
The first part of the festival is also a time to enjoy singing and dancing by performers from the Philippines, Russia, Morocco and other countries. Learn how to dance Bon Odori, a Japanese folk dance. Browse the display and craft tables where you can purchase homemade crafts, or participate in a workshop and learn how to make origami, tie a Korean knot or make a mini bonsai tree. Have your name written in Chinese, Korean or Arabic.
During the second part of the festival, starting at 6:30 p.m., guests will gather on the Sechelt Library lawn to watch an intergenerational multicultural fashion show with beautiful dress from around the world. Then the bagpipes will call to the Seaside Centre for an hour-long program of performances, stories and song from 7 to 8 p.m. Hear from newcomers about their experiences of coming to Canada, learn more about the project to bring another Syrian family to the Sunshine Coast this summer, and share in the universal joy of music with members of the Multicultural Song Circle.
The Multicultural Festival is hosted by the Sunshine Coast Welcoming Communities program, a project of Capilano University and Sunshine Coast Community Services.
For more information, see Sunshine Coast Welcoming Communities on Facebook or contact Maria Giltrow, settlement and outreach coordinator for Welcoming Communities, at [email protected] or 604-865-0170.
– Submitted
