Surrey Fusion Festival Returns at Holland Park

The largest and most diverse festival in Western Canada returns in its 15th year. We celebrated and enjoyed a weekend of multicultural understanding and experiencing diversity in food, culture, live music, and entertainment.

British Columbians and Surrey residents once again gathered at Holland Park, a symbol of our resilience and the return to normalcy, two years after the pandemic. It had the largest crowd since it started in 2008, a hopeful sign of a more lively scene where everyone could enjoy various cultural offerings from different countries worldwide.

This year's Surrey Fusion Festival theme is COMMUNITY. A single word that describes how the world must be in difficult times where global health threats have affected us to live, interact, and socialize. The theme of 'COMMUNITY' was chosen to emphasize the importance of coming together and supporting each other during these challenging times, and to celebrate the strength and resilience of our diverse community.

The 40 pavilions, a vibrant tapestry of cultures, included the Latin countries of Bolivia, Argentina, and Columbia; Asian countries like India, Vietnam, and Indonesia; African countries like Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria; European countries like Germany, France, and the Netherlands; Southwestern Pacific countries like Tonga and Fiji, and Caribbean countries like Barbados and the Cayman Islands. Each pavilion was a unique window into their food, culture, arts, music, and dance.

The pandemic seems over as the crowd cheers for fun and a manic vibe. The delicious authentic food, arts, dance, and music draw people to taste and experience world cultures in one venue.

Other features include a wellness garden, a serene space where people can learn and experience yoga and meditation, and an Indigenous Village where visitors can learn about Indigenous culture through traditional cultural sharing. Global beer and wine tasting offers the chance to sip some cold beverages from around the world, and a cultural cooking arena hosts a cooking competition. Also, there are stages where world-class performers share their talents with the crowd.

It was a great experience to have celebrated the Surrey Fusion Festival for the first time, and I would be glad to make it a yearly event to celebrate and have fun. Community is about the spirit of camaraderie that builds bridges for multicultural understanding and inclusivity. We unite to bring peace, love, and compassion to make our world a better place to live in and for the next generations to preserve and enrich their own culture for the world to see and embrace.

©️ 2022 Del Cusay

White Rock Gallery: Beyond the Frame

To appreciate art, one must understand the most profound emotion, its meaningful realization, and the validation of purpose and intention.

That's the uplifting lesson I learned from a visit to an art gallery in White Rock, British Columbia. It's a city by the sea where arts, history, and culture thrive amidst the test of time and where I discovered the joy of art appreciation.

An art gallery may be different from the usual place to visit today. It may not be welcoming but intimidating to others interested in or appreciating fine arts.

Since 2012, I've learned to admire and appreciate works of art and masterpieces in the Cultural Center in my home country, the Philippines. I've carried the same passion and admiration whenever I visit another country or place with a high regard for culture and the arts.

In Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, every city has a public art gallery open to everyone, and the White Rock Gallery is one of the most beautiful places to be. It was my first Art Gallery experience in Canada and was a profound realization of the value of art galleries.

Nowadays, people choose modern forms of entertainment and have yet to discover and learn about the joys of visiting an art gallery or exhibit. However, fine artists and art enthusiasts have devoted their time, resources, and money to making art more relevant in today's generation.

What makes art galleries intimidating to others is that we need to appreciate and decode their meaning from the artists' perspective or point of view. We couldn't interpret abstract paintings or even find meaning in realistic images.

With our smartphones, we can take a raw picture of a place, edit it, and call it art. It's the most accessible form of art we can do. However, fine art demands time, energy, emotion, and soul to create a more valuable masterpiece, so paintings and sculptures are expensive. 

We tend to ignore or snub expensive things because we can't afford them. Like fine arts, some wouldn't appreciate its value because they can't relate to and find meaning in a painting. But to afford it isn't just about owning it. It's also about enriching our life experience and worth as human beings just by visiting an art gallery, even once in a lifetime.

Art is part of our culture, and a deep appreciation and admiration give us a particular connection with our community. Art evokes various emotions, from joy to sorrow, awe to puzzlement. It moves us, touches our souls, and makes us love at first sight, creating a deep sense of empathy and connection.

As I viewed the gallery, some paintings attracted my attention, drew me closer to scrutinizing, and finally gave meaning to them. It gave me happiness and a sense of belonging to a community of artistic people who have the desire for understanding, passion, and motivation for self-expression.

©️  2022 Del Cusay