Town to host grant-funded culture days event
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Town of Strathmore, alongside Family and Community Support Services (FCSS), as well as its other partners are gearing up to host their largest Alberta Culture Days event to date.
According to the town, free to attend events will be taking place at Kinsmen Park, the Vault Cultural Collective, the Wheatland Arts Society, and the Strathmore Municipal Library.
The events are part of a two-year grant successfully obtained by the town for welcoming inclusive and integrated newcomers and immigrants.
“This year, we really wanted to have quite a large event for everybody. We are really looking to celebrate the different cultures of Strathmore and the different cultures of Canada,” said Emily Pye, special projects coordinator with FCSS. “We really wanted to have events, vendors, entertainers, and facilitators from all different cultural backgrounds so that we could accurately represent our population in Strathmore, but also provide educational opportunities for folks who would like to come out, experience new cultures, new foods, new dancing and new crafts.”
The town described Kinsmen Park will be host to a multi-cultural celebration with an Indigenous showcase, live entertainment, a cultural market, global food, and interactive demonstrations.
The idea behind the Alberta Culture Days event in town is to celebrate people already living in Canada who are coming to Strathmore, as well as the newcomers immigrating into the country.
“We are really looking to create a diverse and inclusionary space for folks coming in, and having an open discourse, being able to talk about different cultures and educate folks,” said Pye. “Whether that’s folks that are Indigenous, folks that are Filipino, folks that are from Africa, we have folks from all around the world living in Strathmore, and it’s really important to celebrate them, while also celebrating our heritage in the community.”
The Town of Strathmore is currently accepting vendor applications for the Alberta Culture Days Market, which invites makers, creators, and culinary artisans to apply.
Alberta Culture Days will be celebrated in Strathmore on Sept. 16, with the town’s event being held from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.
“Intentional community development has been noted as one of our strategic priorities for council this term from their strategic plan, so when we bring all the different diverse cultures and backgrounds of staff more together, then we get that connectedness in our community,” added Danielle Jensen, marketing and communications analyst for the Town of Strathmore.
More information regarding the event has been made publicly available through the Town of Strathmore website.