The Cochrane Immigrant Services Committee (CISC) is expanding its annual CultureFest this year, moving to a larger venue and adding more activities, entertainment, and international booths.
The event will take place on Saturday, September 6, at the SLS Centre, featuring 25 cultural booths and 14 live musical performances.
“I think it’s a great way to connect and for people to have fun,” said CISC President Kristina Kindree. “Just come and have fun, connect, share stories, talk to each other, bring your friends, bring your neighbours, bring your family, bring your curiosity.”
Past editions of CultureFest were held at the Cochrane Lions Events Centre, but last year’s overwhelming turnout of over 1,000 attendees prompted the move to the SLS Centre’s green turf.
Kindree said the celebration has been running for nearly a decade, even during the limited-capacity pandemic years. “CultureFest is definitely more than just an event. It’s a celebration of who we are together,” she said.
Multiculturalism and unity are values that Kindree holds very dear as she herself is an Immigrant, hailing from Thailand by way of Australia.
“I would say, from Asian culture to Western culture, there were a lot that I had to adjust and adapt. So I really appreciate what Cochrane Immigrant Services does to help newcomers integrate to the community.”
A Cochrane resident of eight years, Kindree saw just how much diversity played into the growth of the town. She finds the services and people in Cochrane to be very welcoming to newcomers such as herself before.
“I find the people of Cochrane who came here before us are very open and people are accepting the new cultures,” she noted. “The newcomers have integrated in the community very well. People are open to have conversations with the neighbours and newcomers are encouraged to access services such as those CISC provides.”
The committee’s mission is to help build the community’s capacity to integrate with the different cultures of newcomers. Events like the CultureFest aims to celebrate these cultures while strengthening ties with the rest of the community.
“We are highlighting just 25 of the different cultures that we see in Cochrane,” Kindree said about the upcoming event. “Of course, some culture you would have more population than others but it all points to Cochrane being absolutely more diverse than we think.”
This year’s layout is designed to mimic travelling the globe, with booths arranged by geographic location. Many will offer traditional activities like Japanese origami, and most will provide food samples, Think United Nations meets Costco.
“One of our goals is to help the community build the tools and awareness needed to support newcomers,” Kindree said. “Events like CultureFest allow us to highlight the strength newcomers bring and how we can work together to create spaces where everyone can contribute and belong.”
The event will run from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is free to attend. CISC will be conducting a survey there to help shape future celebrations.
