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 the residents of Surrey once again gathered at Holland park after two years after the pandemic. It's the largest crowd since it started in 2008, perhaps due to the desire of the people to reunite and bring back a more lively scene where everyone can enjoy a wide variety of cultural offerings from different countries in the world.
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.
From 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 like Tonga and Fiji. And the Caribbean countries like Barbados and the Cayman Islands. These are some of the 40 pavilions that showcased 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 where people can learn and experience yoga and meditation in Indigenous Village to learn about their culture through traditional cultural sharing, Global beer and wine tasting to sip some cold beverages from around the world and A cultural cooking arena for a showdown in 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
