Local Focus: Multicultural Festival marks Race Relations Day

This Saturday, the Historic Village’s cobbled streets will be filled with the diverse sights and sounds of the Tauranga Multicultural Festival.

One group preparing a special performance is the Sri Lankan Cultural Association. But it won’t just be the adults showcasing their country’s history — young Sri Lankans will do something very old.

“We’re going to perform a dance that is about ancient Sri Lankan women enjoying the harvest festival,” 9-year-old Anika Wijesinghe said.

“I like showing other people our culture. I’ve been practising the dance for a couple of weeks.”

Eight-year-old Hamish Heenatigala said dancing was a way to show locals how his country expanded.

“We’re doing an ancient Sri Lankan dance from when our ancestors did a successful hunt. It’s a part of our country.”

Nine-year-old Anika Wijesinghe is looking forward to showcasing her Sri Lankan culture through dance.

For the migrant community in Tauranga, the festival is an important date in their calendars.

“It helps us a lot,” Pavithra Sammani, president of the Sri Lankan Cultural Association, said.

“We got so many contacts for the Sri Lankan community through Multicultural Tauranga ... It’s important because we can get to know each other’s communities. This is the first time the Sri Lankan community is attending the festival.”

Now in its 23rd year, the festival was originally created by migrants settling in the Bay of Plenty wanting to celebrate their cultures together.

Multicultural Tauranga president Premila D’Mello said: “From the get-go it’s been a vibrant and authentic celebration of culture.”

“Its numbers have grown as the population of Tauranga has grown. We’ve got a really diverse community at this point in time in Tauranga.”

D’Mello said the charity helps integrate migrants into the local community to strengthen their sense of identity.

As well as performances, food stalls and cooking demos, a special focus of this year’s festival will be on the youth.

The festival is also held to mark Race Relations Day on March 21.

This focus on the wellbeing of young migrants has led to the creation of a new youth ambassador role at the charity.

“An important part of a community is the youth,” ambassador Akash Dutta said. “I’m here to represent them and engage with them with projects such as this.”

As a local musician, Dutta will help showcase the musical side of migrant culture at the festival.

“I’ll be conducting some [Global Village] workshops from different cultures that are represented at the festival.

“These have been set up specifically to engage the young musicians of Tauranga and expose them to the wide range of musical cultures present in the Bay of Plenty,” he said.

The 23rd Multicultural Festival takes place this Saturday at the Historic Village in Tauranga.

Public Interest Journalism Fund