The Festival of Cultures is an event built to bring people together. With the universal appeal of food, entertainment and beer, the annual event is working to build understanding and help people meet their neighbours. Eleven cultures were represented at the event, including Canada, First Nations, Philippines, Thailand, India, Mexico, Serbia, Jamaica, United Kingdom and Ukraine.
Raquel Salalila, Festival of Cultures Coordinator, says that part of the goal is to show off the talents of people from Yorkton and area.
“It’s diverse now, and I think Yorkton is more on with multiculturalism now... It’s an interesting adventure for people who want to try food items, delicacies, and see their craft items.”
A new event is International Beer Night, which brings together beer from around the world. Salalila says that it’s an event that comes from other cultural events. She says that while the afternoon event is about travelling the world through visiting different booths, the beer night is a way to travel the world through beer.
Salalila believes that the festival is a good way to help people meet and better understand their neighbours and the cultural background where they come from. She was happy to see crowds come to the events because it meant people are more aware of what is happening in the communities.
“People are enjoying it, but at the same time they’re aware of the existing cultural groups as well of the newcomers.”
The plan for 2016 is to get bigger, Salalila says, with more cultures represented at the festival. They also want to see the Immigrant of Distinction awards brought into the event, combined with the International Beer Night.
