SPRING FESTIVAL 2023

“Spring Festival 2023“ was not only a great multicultural event, welcoming the beginning of life and beginning of spring (called “Nowruz” in Uzbek language), but was also aimed at promoting Canada’s cultural diversity and creating a positive interaction between cultural, religious and ethnocultural communities. One of the hosts of the Festival was Tony Ruprecht, former Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism. He described the Festival as a very special event, because it introduced 3 Ministers of the Crown, a number of MPP's and Consul Generals including Trade Commissioners. 39 Presidents of Cultural Associations attended the event! Many of the guests remarked that at no other occasion were there so many groups attending. Everyone told the hosts how wonderful it was to be Canadian and finally meet so many others from various multicultural backgrounds. Some honourable guests and remarkable participants were awarded with certificates and traditional hand-made Uzbek attire called “chapans“. The program of the Festival included various multicultural activities. First of all, Uzbek Community Canada () in partnership with a non-profit organization “Immigrant Women in Business“ (IWB) organized panel discussions on ethnic customs and traditions. Representatives from different communities talked about their cultural values and traditions, discussed challenges and problems immigrants could face when coming to Canada, gave advice on how to adapt to a Canadian culture and at the same time keep their own heritage and uniqueness. As the week when the Festival was held was the “Week of solidarity with the people struggling against racism and racial discrimination“, those questions were also widely discussed. Secondly, the Festival was a place where traditional dishes and ethnic foods were presented and tasted. The degustation included European and Eastern cuisines: Italian cheese balls, Greek chicken souvlaki, Chinese spring rolls, Mediterranean baba ganoush, Central Asian samsa, Uzbek pilaf, Atlantic salmon, English roast beef, Spanish roasted vegetables, French crepes and many others. Everyone’s taste was more than satisfied, it was such a feast for the stomach. Not only the stomach of the participants and guests was filled and satisfied, but their eyes too. The on-stage ethnocultural performance groups demonstrated traditional garments and costumes as well as performed beautiful folk songs and dances. The pearl of the Festival was an art exhibit by a multi-award winner and a talented artist Oleksandra Guyowa (originally from Ukraine). In her paintings Oleksandra wanted to depict all the beauty and shades of Canada’s multicultural diversity. The canvases include portraits of people in their national attire or at their cultural event, such as Brazilian Carnival, Indigenous Pow-Wow Festival, Ukrainian village girls, Indian dancers, Arab belly dancer, portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, and so on. The last but not the least, within the Festival there were attire making workshops presenting Uzbek, Chinese, Indian, and Indigenous traditional costumes. The most remarkable thing was that the workshops were mainly attended by young people, who showed their great interest and excitement. It means that those professions (such as traditional clothes designers) have a good chance to be popular among young generations and thrive with fresh ideas and fashion trends while keeping their traditional particularities. This event wouldn’t be possible without Nodira Yuldasheva, Director of Uzbek Community Canada, who brought all of the communities together to enjoy this spectacular Festival, local volunteers and the financial support of the Government of Canada. Uzbek Community Canada: @uzbekcommunitycanada/videos #UCC #UnitedCommunitiesofCanada #UzbekCommunityCanada