Festival of Cultures a success

The Immigration division of the Saskatchewan Abilities Council hosted the first annual Yorkton Festival of Cultures Sunday at Sacred Heart High School. The cultural awareness event was created as the result of the recent increase in immigrants moving to Yorkton and the surrounding area. The festivities featured traditional foods, dance and costumes.

The opening ceremonies commenced with the singing "O' Canada" and welcome remarks from Saskatchewan Abilities Council Executive Director, John Denysek followed by Councillor Richard Okrainec speaking on behalf of the city and MLA Greg Ottenbreit with a message from the Provincial Government.

A total of 13 different cultures participated including Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Doukhobors, First Nations, Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, Jamaica, United Kingdom, Philippines, India and Colombia. The Parkland Filipino Canadian Association exemplified the Filipinos love for fiestas kicking off the performances followed by Jamaica's Maria Cole delivering a reggae vibe with her rendition of Bob Marley songs. Other notable performers included the First Nations, Colombia, United Kingdom, India and The Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Group. Doukhobors surprised everyone with a last minute love song entertaining the theatre audience.

Organizer Edith Montesclaros was pleased her hard work was well recognized. "Hundreds and hundreds of hours of preparation, the costumes we're amazing and I've been approached by three groups already wanting to participate next year" noted Montesclaros. She stated her goal of 16 performers next year and plans to feed off the positive response after making year one a hit. "I learned I was brave. This is the first time we have organized something so big and it was a good learning experience for us".

This all day event featured such traditional foods as perogies, cabbage rolls, borscht, Doukhobor bread, bannock, burritos, jerk chicken and pork among others. A variety of videos and informative displays educated the attendees on the history of each country. For those new to Yorkton and area visit www.yorktonnewcomercentre.ca

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