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Celebrating Cultural Diversity

Hillary Latham , , , ,

On Thanksgiving weekend the people of Saint John gathered at TD Station, which is the local event centre. They came down to partake in Culture Fest, a festival celebrating the cultural diversity in Saint John.

This is the second time that Culture Fest has been in Saint John. Culture Fest happened on the Saturday, and spanned from 10:00 A.M.  – 6:00 P.M.

Flags from all over the globe hung along the stadium walls,  representing the different cultures in Saint John and New Brunswick.

Countries like India, Syria, China, and Mexico were represented at Culture Fest (Hillary Latham/ STU Journalism).

Family friendly activities were offered for those who have younger children. The Board Game Cafe, which is a local business, set up tables for friends and families to play board and card games.

Several of the vendors are those who own local businesses. One of the businesses that set up a booth is Sankara. Sankara is a online multicultural market place, that has crafts and foods from countries from all over the world.

Each vendor had their own both representing their culture and country (Hillary Latham/ STU Journalism).

“We have vendors from different cultures who sell their cuisine, their crafts their grocery products, ” Sankara owner Lily Lynch said.

Sankara is located in Saint John and Fredericton. They have cultural crafts like earrings and scrunchies, as well as foods.

“So today we are basically showcasing our market place because we just launched yesterday, ” Lynch said. “We have different goods from Syria and also from Iraq. So they allow you to experience a different culture without having to travel there and get their cuisine.”

 

Culture Fest set up a live library. Where four volunteers from different parts of the globe would sit down and chat with those attending the fair. This creates an opportunity for those from different cultures to learn about a culture that’s not their own.

Lin Zhang is one of the those four who donated her time to talk to people about Chinese culture. Since she moved from China two years ago, she’s found that her culture is changing, ” I realized I don’t know much about China now, I had to you know Google it.”

Zhang noted that she finds the people in Saint John friendly, and she loves talking to the locals. “This is the first time I volunteer here. I want people to know Chinese culture, I also want to know their culture. So I enjoy this conversation,” Zhang said.