This Friday, November 9, the Cape Breton Island Centre for Immigration (CBICI) will host their second annual multicultural festival, Hello Cape Breton. Several cultural communities will be taking part in what organizers dub “a world gathering on an island”.
This free festival celebrates the diversity of the people who call our Island home, through a full day of performances, food from around the world, art, history, learning and more. The event takes place at the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion in Sydney from noon until 9pm.
Last year, the festival welcomed over 2,000 visitors who immersed themselves in the various cultures present on the Island.
“The festival shows how small but mighty our Island is,” says Deeno Tuggar, Retention Coordinator, CBICI. “With interest both locally and internationally, we really see it as a world gathering on an Island.”
The highlight of the Hello Cape Breton festival are the seven “cultural pavilions” representing the cultures and places in the world from which many of Cape Breton’s newcomers arrive.
These include China, Africa, India, the Middle East, Philippines, Vietnam, and Europe. Attendees are able to see cultural traditions, engage with volunteers from each culture, and participate in educational activities at each pavilion to see and learn about traditions from around the world.
“With the increase of newcomers on our Island, we are expecting an even bigger turnout than last year. There will be more diverse performances and food to show the rich and growing culture on Cape Breton,” says Tuggar.
Hello Cape Breton 2019 will feature music (Celtic fiddle, Chinese fiddle, Cape Breton-Japanese, Vietnamese) and dance (Bhangra, Bollywood, African, Celtic, Classical, Chinese, Phillipine, Vietnamese, Belly Dance) as well as Henna art and face painting, calligraphy, fire-eating, a fashion show, hula hoop performance, and fireworks. The festivities will include a traditional Mi’kmaq opening and closing.
The event is free to attend, but visitors should be sure to have cash on hand to try some delicious international cuisine or take home cultural art pieces.
