Edmonton to Edmonton, AB
Traditional territory of the Métis, Cree and Tsuu T’ina
0 km
The most ominous and long-lasting thunderclouds you have ever seen, then a thunderstorm, 23 ºC
This weekend in Edmonton is the Heritage Festival, a three-day celebration of diversity with dance, arts and foods represented from over 100 different countries. It’s the largest multicultural festival in the world.
My friend Nessa and I ate jerk pork, pan con carne and speculaas; we watched Romanian folk step and Filipino Igorot dancers, and listened to a Ukrainian choir and an Italian boy singer. A Chinese lion dance wound its way through the crowd. Korean teenagers pounded their drums.
This is going to probably sound effusive but I couldn’t imagine this kind of festival happening anywhere else in the world. Cultures were being celebrated with such sincerity and spirit, as soon as you’d turn away from one stage there would be another performance happening beside you. People walked around in traditional clothing. I heard a dozen different languages. I saw a hundred colours.
It’s worth saying that multiculturalism in Canada is not perfect. I usually hesitate to talk about it because it feels like it’s always been a bragging point for people that want to talk superlatively about Canadian society. I don’t think we can brag about it. But after a day like today, with so much respect and joy and support for the different cultures and communities around us, I think we can be proud.
