The Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre was home to the ninth annual World Multicultural Festival on Nov. 30, where Ottawa residents embraced and learned about different cultures and heritages.
The festival featured many attractions, including vendors selling goods from around the world and a vast array of performances. Participants ranged in age and ethnicity, from a youth Italian dance group to a Croatian band that has toured across Canada.
For nine consecutive years, festival director Gipsy Ghosh has organized the festival to unite and celebrate people of all cultures and heritages. Ghosh said the festival is “an example of why celebrations of heritage are important in local communities.”
“Under the circumstances we are facing today, we should, now, more than ever, learn each other’s cultures and ways of life to some extent as a means to understand and respect each other,” Ghosh said
Ghosh said she prides herself on making the festival as diverse as possible, not just in terms of culture, but also in age. She said performers of all ages are welcome to take part in the cultural activities, with participants ranging from as young as 10 years old to those in their mid-40s.
Every year, many government officials and politicians attend the festival. This year, figures like Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and Ottawa’s chief of police Eric Stubbs were in attendance.
Mehdi Sbai, a volunteer at the event, said he was overjoyed at the opportunity to share the diversity of his community with government officials.
“The Mayor being there showed support to the events happening in the community, regardless of if the events were big or small,” Sbai said.
Community member Elif Badem, who attended the festival with her two young sons, said local leaders’ presence at cultural events matters. She said her sons were thrilled to be sitting in the same room as the mayor.
“It’s nice to see people in power come to something like this and enjoy our ways of life and our cultures with us,” Badem said.
Sbai said the festival has served as a method of expression outside of daily life for many years. As an Ottawa resident, he said he isn’t prevented from wearing cultural clothing, but it is rare to find opportunities where he can embrace his culture and tradition.
Filp Buljan, a musician and performer at the event, said he was thrilled to take part, describing the festival as a “fun peek into everyone’s heritage.”
Buljan plays guitar for Croatian folk band Plesati Slovenian, which has participated in professional tours across Canada. He said the festival allowed Croatian artists to “have their voice heard.”
“The festival is a good way for us to show off who we are and our traditions, and promote something people haven’t seen before,” Buljan said.
According to Ghosh, the festival will expand to occur twice a year beginning in 2025. She said that the biannual event will feature a larger variety of performances, and will serve as a way for small local businesses to gain recognition.
Ghosh said the support for the event every year is a testament to the community’s commitment to celebrating diversity and fostering cultural exchange.
“My goal is to ensure that people have a way to truly be themselves.”
Featured Image provided by Mehdi Sbai.
