A diverse celebration to showcase all the wonderful cultures Cochrane has to offer will be taking place at the end of the month. On Sunday, Sept. 29, the Cochrane Lions Event Centre will be opening its doors to the first Cochrane Culture Fest.
More commonly known in the past as the "community picnic" - in partnership with the citizenship ceremonies - Culture Fest will now have its own title and day of celebrations.
"We had some funding left over from Calgary Foundation and they encouraged us to keep the funding and put on a cultural celebration so we thought it would make more sense to have the cultural celebration in conjunction with Alberta Culture Days," said Jackie Shier, member of the Culture Fest planning committee.
The Cochrane Immigrant Services Committee alongside the Helping Hands Society has been planning the event since March. Through monthly meetings and having a planning committee in full swing, the event is sure to allow Cochranites a deeper look into their neighbour's roots.
"We really wanted to focus on the multicultural component because Cochrane is growing and we have more and more people from other countries coming in and people don't realize how diverse we are now so we just wanted to highlight that Cochrane is changing," said Shier.
With the ol' mighty weather being ever so inconsistent and other various factors, the event will have the entertainment portion inside the event centre so the main event can still take place rain or shine.
"We will have a stage set-up and we will have a program running throughout the afternoon, we have nine different performances that will be happening either musical or dance-related," said Shier.
In the same area as the entertainment portion, there will be booths set up representing different countries of the world. Currently, there are 14 cultures that have confirmed but Shier is hoping to see 16. At the booths, there will be plenty of knowledge to be had. From traditional items to folklore stories to food samples, there will be something for everyone.
There will also be an outdoor component to the-day events. The Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area will be putting on a fundraiser barbecue, there will be a youth magician, a face painter, the Cochrane Rainbows Group will have a tent with entertainment, the parent link centre will have a spot, as well as Family Community Support Service, and the Stockmen's Memorial Foundation.
Also outside, there will be a couple of vendors. One will be selling Bulgarian shirts and another will be selling necklaces from Latin America. There will also be some door prizes to be won. A bingo-style game will get individuals and families engaged with the booths by asking questions from the bingo card and then entering it in the draw in hopes of winning.
Another unique way Culture Fest will be displaying all the different cultures Cochrane has will be through a project called "The Faces of Cochrane Mosaic." There will be a booth situated outside and individuals can go take a photo of themselves holding up a sign of where they are from originally. Shier says she is hoping to get around 60 to 80 photos, which will be made into a mosaic that will hopefully travel around Cochrane staying at numerous places for a little chunk of time.
Marina Kyoseva has been in Canada for 12 years and is originally from Bulgaria. She will be performing traditional folklore with her group called "Haide Na Horoto." Kyoseva says the name means "come on let's dance." With that meaning, who can say no?
Some of the countries that will be part of Culture Fest include Bolivia, Ghana, Bulgaria, England, India, Japan, South Korea, Philippines and El Salvador, just to name a few. If you want to show off your culture you can still do so, email [email protected] for more information.
Culture Fest will be an afternoon event on Sun. 29, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
