The third annual Festival of Cultures will look a little different this year, but will still include various vendors, performers, and family-fun activities.
Sarnia-Lambton Local Immigration Partnership Coordinator Stephanie Ferrera said in the past, the event was held outdoors on New Year's Eve at the Suncor Agora Stage at Sarnia's Centennial Park.
This year, the event will be held on Sunday, February 15, at the Point Edward Community Hall, located at 210 Monk St.
"We find that while outdoors in the winter is fun and kitschy, it's not very practical for a lot of reasons," said Ferrera. "We were actually leveraging the New Year's Eve thing - like new beginnings, because we were trying to find things in common across cultures. While not all cultures celebrate Family Day, we all have families, and we like to showcase how some of those traditions are experienced across the world. So it was nice to move it to that time."
The Festival of Cultures will be held from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Ferrera said several cultures will be highlighted from countries such as India, Colombia, Ireland, Scotland, and Jamaica.
She said the idea of hosting an event like this is to celebrate diversity and to provide a conduit between cultural groups, newcomers, and residents.
"We've conducted a number of surveys over the years at different events and some of our newcomers asked for opportunities to connect in the community. Not only to share some of their own traditions but to learn about the Canadian culture itself, including Indigenous celebrations," she said. "So it's providing a venue for people to learn from one another."
With the difference in time and location this year, it's tough to gauge how many people will attend the event. Ferrera said in the past, they've seen between 250 and 300 guests.
This year's festival will feature about 34 vendors.
"We're hoping people will find the food experience excellent, and there's going to be other cultural performances as well," said Ferrera. "There'll be a running slideshow around how families celebrate traditions across the world. There [will be] a number of buskers there as well, we have a magician, and we have a balloon artist."
The event is free to attend.
Ferrera said while guests are encouraged to bring money if they plan on buying goods from vendors, some things will be free.
"For instance, one of the activities that we're hosting will be a cookie decorating table," she said. "We'll also have some henna tattooing ... that's a very popular feature at these events."
The festival will conclude with a drone show at 6 p.m. Ferrera said it will be launched from Starlight Casino Point Edward and will be visible from outside the community hall.
