Glebe Park is set to feature as a new location within the footprint of this year’s National Multicultural Festival (NMF) in a move to provide more family-friendly areas for patrons.
Senior Director of the NMF, Azra Khan, said the decision was based on feedback from previous events, with Glebe Park to host a range of activities for children, workshops, as well as roving performers and entertainment.
Ms Khan said Glebe Park is a “nice, green leafy space for anyone” and will cater for those people looking for a quieter area within the festival footprint.
A celebration of cultural diversity that attracts hundreds of thousands to Canberra for music, dance and food, this year’s NMF will be held from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 February.
“This festival is a tradition,” she said. “It is very much what makes Canberra a wonderful, welcoming city. The festival is something that everyone looks forward to every year.”
According to Ms Khan, the continued success of the event can in part be attributed to the army of volunteers who give up their time each year to “contribute to this wonderful celebration of cultural diversity”.
“The size and scale of this event couldn’t be done without the level of support from volunteers,” she said. “We have well over 600 shifts [to fill] over the three days and we are appreciative of the response we’ve had.”
This year, the NMF received registrations from more than 300 people and they will be assigning a variety of roles to all who have registered.
Australian singer-songwriter and recording artist Vanessa Amorosi and former MasterChef winner Adam Liaw will headline the event. Local artist LIV LI (Amber Nichols) will also feature across multiple days at the festival.
ACT Minister for Multicultural Affairs Chris Steel said “we’re really looking forward to hosting such high-profile Australians at one of the biggest events on the Canberra calendar”.
“We want to keep building on the success of previous years with a festival that promotes equality, social inclusion, and sharing of cultural traditions that contribute to a community that respects and celebrates our diversity.”
Vanessa Amorosi will perform on the Friday evening while Adam Liaw will be doing a cooking demonstration on the Sunday.
This year, the festival will feature over 300 stallholders as well as six stages and the introduction of two platforms, one in Glebe Park and one in Bunda Street.
For more information about the Festival, go to www.multiculturalfestival.com.au
