Estevan’s Southeast Newcomer Services hosted a Women’s Cultural Dance and Art night at Western Star hotel on Sept. 22 and saw dozens of local women participating in various cultural art and dance related activities.
The evening, which went from 6 – 9 p.m., had a dinner, painting, henna tattooing and cultural dancing and was hosted to encourage women in the community to form friendships and learn about others cultures according to Stephanie Davis, information service advisor for Southeast Newcomer Services.
“We just want to celebrate different cultures of women in the community and come together to form some lasting female bonds,” said Davis.
“We have dancing and food as well as some traditional henna tattooing and of course some different cultural dancing.”
A $25 registration fee was required for participants, a change from last year’s event, which was free. But according to Davis she is hopeful that in the future the event will return to being free for participants.
“Unfortunately this year we weren’t able to receive one of the grants that we apply for to cover our costs, which is understandable considering how many companies have fantastic programs and ideas that they need help funding,” said Davis.
“I had people telling me as they were leaving how much they loved the night and asking me to make sure that this event keeps going in the future so no matter what I have to do I’m going to do whatever I can to try and make sure we can keep going in the future.
According to Davis the importance of the evening was to allow women to connect with each other in an environment where there are no pressures and allow cultures to be shared and appreciated between women in the community.
“I think the dancing we’re going to be doing is really important. Women really let loose and express themselves when they are dancing and it’s a great way to make new friends,” said Davis.
“And we also have the henna tattooing which is a different culture of visual art that allows you to wear the art on your body and see different cultures. Plus the dancing is all culturally inspired and is a really great way for us all to have some fun and get to know each other.”
Roughly 30 women participated in the event, ranging from a variety of different cultures. Some participants dressed in culturally inspired outfits and all spent the evening sharing their culture through art and dance.
“We just really want to thank our sponsor SaskCulture. Without them we wouldn’t be able to host events like this and continue to support women in the community,” said Davis.
“And I really want to thank everyone for supporting Southeast Newcomer Services and coming out to our events because nights like this really help keep our community together and strong.”
