At long last, after a three-year absence, the National Multicultural Festival will be held this weekend – and multicultural affairs minister Tara Cheyne MLA is thrilled it’s back, bigger than ever.
“We are so very pleased after such a long hiatus due to the global pandemic that we are finally able to officially launch the 2023 milestone 25th anniversary National Multicultural Festival,” she said on Monday. “I’ve waited a long time as minister to say that!”
The free, community-run Festival celebrating the 170 cultures found in the ACT begins on Friday afternoon and finishes late afternoon on Sunday.
The “iconic extravaganza”, Ms Cheyne said, “will bring the heart of Canberra to life with incredible entertainment, a melting pot of cultures, countless cuisines from around the world, and a quintessentially Canberra experience for all.”
In 1981, the ACT Ethnic Communities Council held the first festival celebrating cultural diversity, as part of Australia Day. By 1988, the festival had grown to host 40 international food stalls, music, and dancing. The ACT Government first hosted the event, now called the National Multicultural Festival, in 1996. At the last festival, held in 2020, more than 200,000 people came.
“Many of us remember that event as one of the last major festivals we attended before the pandemic,” Ms Cheyne said.
The Festival was postponed for two years due to COVID.
“The ensuing years have been tough, with us not being able to hold the festival in 2021 or 2022,” Ms Cheyne said. “But we are back – and we are back in a very, very big way!”
This year, there are almost three times as much entertainment, Ms Cheyne said: eight stages featuring cultural talent and performances from across the globe; more than 100 individual performance groups; and 30 community showcases with their own lineup of entertainment and performers.
For the first time, there will be an Afghan Showcase, as well as favourites like the Latin Carnivale and Pacific Islands Showcase.
Headline acts include Mitch Tambo, a First Nations entertainer and international sensation; American singer Lisa Hunt, who has sold more than a million records worldwide; ARIA-nominated Punjabi-Australian singer Parvyn; multi-ARIA Award winning entertainer and Play School presenter Justine Clarke; jazz virtuoso James Morrison; and musician, actor, and children’s entertainer Jay Laga’aia.
They are supported by artists from around the world, including East Timorese reggae/ska favourites Dili Allstars; Tibetan singer and multi-instrumentalist Tenzin Choegyal, collaborating with the Phoenix Collective; the German musical and comedy group The Beez; and renowned contemporary South Sudanese singer Ajak Kwai.
- Big name entertainers at the National Multicultural Festival (8 December 2022)
- Two weeks to Canberra’s National Multicultural Festival (3 February 2023)
For the first time, too, the festival will include free hands-on workshops so communities can share their cultural heritage through dance, art, and language. The 35 workshops include how to wear an Indian sari or Korean hanbok; kung fu and tai chi; calligraphy and bush dancing classes; learning Tongan greetings; and how to write in the Ancient Egyptian Coptic alphabet.
More than 250 food, drink, and information stalls will be spread throughout the festival, “featuring cultures and countries from around the globe to delight taste buds, to inform, and to entertain”, Ms Cheyne said.
Another first for the silver anniversary year will be a dedicated cooking demonstration program at the City Walk stage across all three days. More than 15 community and professional chefs will share the stories and techniques behind cultural dishes from Taiwan to Assyria, Peru to Thailand.
“There really is something for everyone,” Ms Cheyne said.
The government has developed comprehensive program and information guides, which can be found at https://www.multiculturalfestival.com.au/festival-program.
“I encourage everyone to have a good look now and map out your multi-culti,” Ms Cheyne said.
This weekend will be a scorcher: 33° on Friday, 34° on Saturday, and 32° on Sunday, so be SunSmart.
“It is going to be hot, not unlike multi-cultis of the past,” Ms Cheyne said.
However, there will be more shade and more areas to sit, including at Glebe Park and in movement and flow works around City Walk and Bunda Street. There will be quiet and air-conditioned spaces in Civic Library and at the Canberra Museum & Gallery. First aid tents will provide water, sunscreen, and portable air-conditioning, while there are also five water refill stations.
Ms Cheyne also encouraged Canberrans to use public transport. Work on raising London Circuit for light rail has disrupted parking and general movement of traffic.
Free dedicated shuttle buses will run from Belconnen, Woden, the Parliamentary Triangle, and Russell to the Festival, until 11.30pm on Friday and Saturday nights.
For more information, visit: www.nationalmulticulturalfestival.com.au.
