MONTAGUE, P.E.I. - Being exposed to a multitude of cultures is something Anastasia Li hadn’t experienced until she moved to P.E.I. from China.
The 17-year-old, who now lives in Stratford, said she has met people from cultures all over the world since moving to the Island a year ago.
“I really enjoy the multi-culture here because it’s really hard to see those different cultures in my home country,” said Li, who was one of thousands at the fifth DiverseCity Multicultural Street Festival in Montague on Sunday. “This is pretty cool to see this many people here for this festival.”
Booths lined the street at the Montague waterfront with colourful displays of cultures from all over the world as people gathered to celebrate.
The air was filled with the delicious smells of the different kinds of food from various vendors.
From 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., the stage at the waterfront featured performers showcasing different talents like dance, music, and demonstrations of Kung Fu, kick boxing and Thai Chi.
China, Japan, Bahamas, and Iran were just some of the countries featured at this year’s festival, which was organized by the P.E.I. Association for Newcomers to Canada.
DiverseCity manager Mark Carr-Rollitt said the event is important for two main reasons —the first being to show people how diverse the Island has become over the last few decades.
“The second thing is there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that if people feel like they have an ability to celebrate their culture and if they can reach out and make connections, they’re more likely to stay,” he said.
The festival was the final event during the 2018 Montague Summer Days Cultural Festival.
It is a great chance for people who are new P.E.I. to see more of what the Island has to offer, said Craig Mackie, executive director of the P.E.I. Association of Newcomers to Canada.
“It’s nice for newcomers from Charlottetown to see another part of the Island,” he said. “So we do get a lot of people coming from the centre of the Island and checking it out.”
DiverseCity holds three events throughout the province — one in each county. The Queens County event was the 12th of its kind and took place two weeks ago in Charlottetown.
Next on the list is the Prince County event which will see DiverseCity in Alberton for the first time.
The event was previously held in Summerside but will move to Alberton since it is further away in Prince County.
“The rationale I think for this year was really just to spread as far across the Island as we could so Alberton puts us further into West Prince,” said Carr-Rollitt.
The event is next Sunday, July 22 from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Main Street in Alberton.
