The Estevan Leisure Centre became a small global village on Saturday with the Collage Cultural Festival living up to its name by providing a diverse and educational global experience for everyone involved.
The festival ran throughout the day on Sept. 26, bringing in a healthy crowd of about 500 people.
The hallways of the Leisure Centre were lined with tables, and countless enticing aromas wafted around with the smells of spices and seasonings mingling. There was a wealth of cultural information, items, and all sorts of culture-specific dishes served by spokespeople at each station who were eager to chat and educate everyone about their cultures.
Waed Dakkak, a program coordinator with Southeast Newcomer Services and one of the organizers of the event, noted that the location this year helped bring in a lot of people. Collage coincided with the Estevan Showcase Business Expo, taking place in Affinity Place.
“Last year, Collage was held at the art gallery so that was a bit outside the city, and some people had commitments to the Showcase, and were unable to make it. This year, we got the foot traffic we lost last year, because the venues were so close,” said Dakkak. “We were able to get a beautiful number of performers this year, even at the last minute, in some cases.”
Dakkak noted that one particularly memorable moment for her was one of the guests told her she’d been sitting and watching onstage performances for three hours.
While guests had the opportunity to learn and discuss cultures, while sampling various styles of cuisine, demonstrations went on throughout the day in the activity room.
Demonstrations ran the gamut of expression, ranging from Ukrainian dancing to live kung fu patterns involving weapons. Many musical performances from around the world also took to the stage. Some of the demonstrations were even interactive, with guests being encouraged to climb onstage and join in.
In particular, there were a lot of displays running through the halls, relating to Filipino culture, reflecting the strong Filipino presence within the community of Estevan, including Kuya Wayne’s Sari Sari Store.
Many of the exhibits featured a great deal of artwork on display, and had clothes and jewelry crafted in the styles of their respective cultures for sale. There was an assortment of clothing and styles of adornments available at the Peruvian and African tables, in particular.
“I had a lot of fun. I don’t know what my favorite part was, but I liked it all,” said four-year-old Gabrille Deitz, while watching a kung fu demonstration put on by members of Chung Wah Kung Fu, a martial arts centre in Regina.
Melissa Deitz echoed her daughter’s sentiments, saying, “It’s a great experience for everyone. There’s lots of tradition, lots of culture, and it’s a particularly good learning experience for my kids.”
Sana Arman, an exhibitor for a variety of countries near the Mediterranean Sea, including Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, had arrayed an extensive display with clothes, artwork, refreshments, games, and even handmade soap associated with those cultures arranged at her table. Many items and dishes originated from more than one of the countries she represented, because of the strong historical overlap between cultures.
Arman noted Saturday was her first time hosting an exhibit at the festival, and although things started out slowly in the morning, the amount of attention she was given kept her busy all day, serving traditional Mediterranean dishes and answering questions about everything with which she surrounded herself.
“I’ve been asked a lot about games, and the coffee, the salad, and the different flavors, and of course, my dress,” said Arman, who wore a traditional Palestinian dress.
Eduardo Armas, who ran the Guatemalan table next to his mother’s exhibit of Peruvian culture said, “It’s pretty good. There have been many people coming here for the food.”
Armas was kept busy serving Mexican food to guests throughout the day.
“Last year, my mother had a stand set up for Peru and Guatemala together, but this time, we wanted to have separate exhibits, because so many people were visiting at once.”
Dakkak said the event was an excellent opportunity to meet new people and learn new things, and reminded her of her love for traveling, doing the same things.
She noted that among volunteers, for every hour of the event, there were two team members of the Estevan Bruins helping out wherever they were needed, moving furniture, looking after children, and assisting with setup and takedown of the stage.
“I want to say thank you to every single person who participated, volunteered, and who came to the event,” said Dakkak. “Every single person there from the baby in the stroller to the nice grandmother who watched three hours of performances were all important to the event’s success. I’m already looking forward to next year’s Collage.”
