There’s no better place to be on the Canberra Day public holiday, Monday 14 March, than celebrating Canberra’s 109th birthday with a family-friendly, multicultural day of free entertainment in Commonwealth Park.

The event is free for everyone to attend and no registrations are required*. It’s the perfect way to spend the day in town celebrating Canberra Day.

And with Canberra’s beloved National Multicultural Festival unable to go ahead for the past two years, this year’s Canberra Day event will incorporate a colourful kaleidoscope of multicultural performances, workshops, information stalls, and food vendors. It’s almost like taking a trip around the globe without leaving your hometown.

ENTERTAINMENT

Throughout the day, from 11am till late, you will be entertained by around 40 different performers across three stages plus roving entertainers throughout the park.

The main entertainment will be held at Stage 88. From 11am, there will be a Welcome to Country by Wally Bell, followed by singing and dance performances ahead of the Minister’s welcome by Tara Cheyne MLA at 1pm. After that, enjoy performances by Canberra Celtic Pipe Band, ANU School of Music, Koko Loco dancers, African Band and plenty more.

A colourful range of multicultural performances, including Ukrainian folkloric dance, Celtic dancing, Maori performing arts and Los Chavos will be held on the Parkes Way Stage from 11am until 8pm.

Be dazzled by more live performances on Stage Three from 11am to 7.20pm including belly dancing, Salvadorian, Tibetan, contemporary Chinese, and Colombian dance, King Fu Wushu including brick smashing, and pipe and drum bands – to name a few.

Between 11am and 7.40pm, roving entertainment will be provided by Canberra Prosperous Mountain Lions, Raio de Sol, Michael Speranza, Canberra Dragon Dance, LED Lion, and more.

FOOD/STALLS

If you’ve sorely missed the excitement of the Multicultural Festival, be sure to visit the Canberra Day celebration in Commonwealth Park for your multicultural food fix.

Here’s just a taste of what’s in store:

Celebration of African Australians: Taste of African cuisine and African cultural display presented by Celebrate African Australians ACT.

Pacific Island Bar: The Pacific Island Showcase Association is excited to launch their own Kava drink on Canberra Day, on sale for the first time since Kava was recently legalised in Australia.

Canberra India Council: Range of stalls including clothing, henna and a vegetarian food stall.

Federation of Chinese Associations ACT: Range of stalls including Chinese art, calligraphy, games and books.

Australian Colombian Association: Proudly showcasing the flavours of Columbian and South America cuisine.

Canberra Academy of Languages: Providing information about learning languages, bilingualism, multilingualism, community languages, the diversity of languages in the Canberra area, and the benefits of these.

My Island Kitchen ACT: Small family run food truck selling Pacific Island cuisine.

Multilingual Story Walk for Canberra Day: Story boards across the event site – each in different languages.

WORKSHOPS

Two very different workshops will be held in Commonwealth Park on Monday 14 March:

Kung Fu Wushu Workshops: Six sessions: 11am; 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm and 5pm. Sign up to find out more about ancient Chinese martial arts that have been practised for centuries and are gaining in popularity around the world.

Canberra in Colour Workshops: Two sessions: 1-3pm and 4-6pm. Award-winning artist Lily Platts will be your art tutor and host for the Canberra in Colour Tea-Total workshops, presented by Tuggeranong Arts Centre. Participants will learn visual art skills to create an artwork responding to the Canberra community. Cost: $30. Register via events.humanitix.com/canberra-in-colour-tea-total-enlighten

[has image of Canberra in Colour workshop]

Caption: Sign up to a Canberra in Colour Workshop to create your own artwork

FIND OUT MORE

For up-to-date details on the Canberra Day in the park celebrations, visit: enlightencanberra.com/program/canberra-day

* Registrations are required only for the Canberra in Colour workshops.

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