After taking a year off, it appears Estevan's multicultural festival will make its return this year.
Southeast Newcomer Services announced last week that Collage will be held Sept. 27-29 at the Estevan Leisure Centre.
Katie Burham of SNS said the organization had applied to a number of government agencies for funding and learned in late August that they had received all of the funds they were asking for.
"We are now full blown and ready to schedule. We are working on that right now," said Burham.
Collage had previously been organized by the Estevan Chamber of Commerce but the organization decided to back away from the event since it didn't fall under their mandate. That decision, among other reasons, led to Collage not taking place in 2012.
However, earlier this year it was noted that perhaps another group could pick up the torch and bring the event back to life.
As it turned out, that group was Southeast Newcomer Services, a provincial agency created to help immigrants get settled in the area. Burham said given their involvement with the newcomer community, their involvement with Collage is an ideal fit.
"We are really looking forward to everything coming together," she said.
Now that they have all of their ducks in a row on the funding side, Burham said their next challenge will be scheduling.
She noted they chose the dates they did since they coincide with the annual Estevan Business Showcase, which will also be held at the leisure centre.
"People are already out (for Showcase) so it will be a great way to introduce them to some new cultures and experiences," said Burham, who added they plan to hold performances in the multi-purpose room and will also have booths set up in the hallways of the leisure centre.
Because of their late start, plans are just now coming together and Burham said anyone interested in performing or volunteering at Collage may contact her at 306-637-4920.
"We do have some people booked. We have some Chinese lion dancers coming from Regina, which I think will be an exciting thing to see. They will perform on (Sept. 28) but we don't have times confirmed yet.
"Our goal is to educate the public on some of the cultures that are in our community as well as to give some of our newcomers a chance to meet members of the community."
