Edmonton, July 31 – August 2, 2010
By: Zdenko Kahlina
I am always excited in the summer, when Heritage Days festival begins! It’s part of Edmonton and it’s a lot of fun.
Come to our 35th Birthday!
Servus Heritage Festival 2010 marks the 35th annual of this premier three-day showcase of Canada’s vibrant multicultural heritage. This year will feature 63 pavilions representing over eighty-five cultures from all over the world. Sample culinary delicacies, see creative performances, shop for crafts, artwork, and clothing, or chat with people eager to tell you a little about their cultural roots and their present-day communities in Canada.
The Edmonton Heritage Festival is the greatest showcase of Canada’s amazing diversity of people and ethnic cultures! Imagine over 60 unique pavilions representing the cultures and traditions of nearly half the world’s nationalities – the “Canadian Mosaic”.
William Hawrelak Park and the lake 
William Hawrelak Park
This festival is my favorite one of the summer, because you get to stuff yourself senseless while appreciating diverse cultures in the city. One of the best things about Edmonton. It’s fascinating to see all the different cultures our city houses. Representing the living cultures and traditions with hundreds of delicious foods, intoxicating music and dance, vibrant clothing and historical artifacts. Learning about other countries is a lot of fun as well…
Columbia folklore
Cute kids dancing
Over 6,000 volunteers from Edmonton’s ethnic communities participate each year. There are hundreds of delicious foods to buy, swirling music and dance entertains you, charming arts and crafts are here to purchase and you’ll be fascinated by the vibrant clothing and historical artifacts. Interactive sports and novelty displays are guaranteed to keep your attention.
Samba dancing
Samba dancing
The best part about Heritage Days (that’s what everyone calls it), is immersing yourself in so many different and unique cultures – all in one day. Sometimes I find that I want more though!
Thai dancing
And more dancing…
The dancing is amazing. I love watching all the different cultures perform because it really gives you a new appreciation for the diversity we have in our city. It’s a beautiful thing.
Serbian heritage
Serbian BBQ
Okay, but let’s be real here: the best part of the festival is the insane variety of food that is available. I swear I gain 5lbs after every Heritage festival, but luckily I burn them off since I have to do so much walking during the festival. Mmmm, so many flavors… you won’t even know where to start. I once had some crepes over at the French booth that changed my life. Going for the food alone is worth the trip. Don’t forgot to pack an extra stomach!
If you have ever wanted to try some ethnic food but haven’t yet mustered up the courage to sit down in a restaurant and take on a completely foreign menu, Heritage Days can help! Try some of the food at each of the different booths. They don’t usually have a full menu so the choice isn’t as hard. You can also ask what they recommend (I’ve done it many times) and they are happy to give you the best they’ve got.
Croatian pavilion
Croatian folklore costumes
Croatian folklore dancing
Croatian grill
Me being a Croatian, I always stop at the Croatian tent for their Croatian specialty meat “ćevapčići”. Croatian ćevapčići are made of both pork and beef. A serving usually consists of 5-10 pieces, served with white bread, minced red pepper, salt and onions. More about traditional Croatian food specialties can be found here on Zdenko’s blog. Eating outdoors always makes the meal itself much more memorable.
France crepe
Japan Yakitori
Ecuador Caucara con papas
Korean Bul-go-gi combo
It’s a really neat experience, Heritage Days. Enjoy great food, the great outdoors, and experience the diversity that we have right here in our own backyards!
Here, you can eat pirogues and green onion cakes, then in the next bite be devouring jerk chicken or lentil dal. I love wandering around looking at different pavilions and what they’ve got going on. Whether it’s a dance performance, singing, food or clothing and art objects on display, it’s fun to stop and watch for a few minutes, then move on. I love seeing people who take such pride in their heritage and others wanting to learn more about them.
Russia pavilion and dancing
The same deal as Taste of Edmonton, in that you purchase a sheet of tickets and use your stubs towards foods at vendors’ tents. My favorite (other than Croatian) is the mango and sweet rice at the Thai pavilion; it’s like heaven in a bowl on those hot summer days.
You usually need a map for this event, as there are over 100 tents, I believe. Like someone mentioned, it’s so great to see everyone come out and celebrate Edmonton’s multiculturalism. Along with the food, you can buy cultural souvenirs from tents and take in performances throughout the day. The Japanese Kendo, Chinese dragon dances, and Spanish flamenco dances are always really popular. You usually see girls buying Chinese umbrellas too, to shade themselves from the sun.
I usually find myself running out of tickets midway, and need to go back for more. The Heritage Festival is like a multicultural buffet; you gotta sample a little bit of this and that to appreciate it.
The heritage festival is a good excuse to spend a day eating. While it’s a festival in its own right, it reminds me of Taste of Edmonton, since E-town’s so multicultural. This is a wonderful civic event which creates positive buzz and greater visibility of minorities in our community. These are the kinds of government initiatives that everyone can participate in, and which create greater tolerance and friendliness among the people we call neighbors.
Chinese pavilion
Chinese dancing
Canadian Pavilion at Heritage Festival a tale of pride and passion
By: Alexandra Preston
My name is Alexandra Preston, and I love Canada! With the help of my mom and many of my friends, I was able to put together the first Canadian pavilion at the 2009 Servus Heritage Festival. I wanted to share my love of Canada with other Edmontonians because I truly feel that Canada has a culture that should be celebrated!
All of us have moments in our life that shape us, and ultimately define who we are. I remember one of my moments vividly. I was sitting at the dinner table with my family, half-listening to my sister’s talk about their trials and tribulations in elementary school. At the time I was in grade eight, and we were studying Canadian History. I was eager to voice my frustrations with the curriculum, so during the first lull in conversation I piped up. “We are learning about Canadian History, again… how boring!” I said. My mom, never the one to squelch her convictions and suffer in silence, quickly came to Canada’s defense. “I am a proud Canadian, and I feel privileged to call this country my home. It is important to learn about the history of our country because our Canadian values, our rights, and our freedoms are all a result of the past. We live in an amazing country, and we have so many liberties that a lot of people take for granted…” The more I listened to her, the more I realized how right she was. When I am thirsty I go get clean drinking water from the tap, when my teeth hurt I go to the dentist, when my vision was bad I got glasses, and this list of my personal privileges goes on and on. My mom showed me how much Canada had given me, and from that day on, I felt lucky to be a Canadian.
Photos with the dancers
Every year we would go to Heritage Days in August to take in the sights and sounds of cultures from around the world, and we soon noticed the absence of a Canadian pavilion. After years of feeling like my culture wasn’t being represented at the festival, I decided to start a Canadian pavilion myself. To have a pavilion I needed to make a non-profit organization a year prior to the festival, so I got a small group of my friends together and we made Canadians Aware of Canada Society.
The objective of Canadians Aware of Canada Society is to create an appreciation for Canadian culture and to promote discussion of what it means to be Canadian. Canada is a vast country with a diverse landscape, and an even more diverse population. As a result of this beautiful diversity, Canadian culture cannot be defined in a few sentences because its definition is dependent upon individual viewpoints. We all have something about Canada that we love; something that makes us stand up tall and proud when we sing the national anthem.
Planning and running a Canadian pavilion was by no means an easy Endeavour. After creating a non-profit society, we started a University of Alberta student group. We had bake sales outside in rain or shine, but we still didn’t have enough money to pay for the pavilion entrance fee and tent rentals. We applied for a Students Union grant, and after weeks of waiting and worrying, I got an email saying that we had received a $2500.00 grant! We were all ecstatic, and we threw ourselves right into planning the pavilion. Without the help of Marlon from The Grocery People who got McCain to donate ten cases of fries, Windsor Plywood, Totem Building Supplies, Victoria Composite School, Salvation Army Grace Manor, and the Sherbrooke Community League, the pavilion would not have been made possible.
By the beginning of the festival my visa card was maxed out, and I began using my debit card to pay for whatever else was needed. In the art tent we had five artists showcasing their work, and had informational posters outside that my mom and I researched and my friend Brian Drobot designed. The posters displayed facts about Canadian Provinces and Territories and their capital cities, Canadian Inventions, animals of Canada, and Prime Ministers of Canada. In our food tent we served poutine, butter tarts and Nanaimo bars, all of which were invented in Canada! We handed out thousands of flags, pins, and temporary tattoos that were all donated by Celebrate Canada and Heritage Canada. I will never forget my experience at the first Canadian pavilion, and all the people that smiled when they took a flag, or thanked me for the work that I had done.
Planning and working at the Canadian pavilion was one of the best experiences of my life. Canadians are often too polite to celebrate their country for fear of offending others. We save the celebration for one day a year, Canada Day, and Canadian culture is rarely, if at all, discussed publically. Silence rarely offends people, but it also doesn’t foster awareness of our nation, its history, or its future. It doesn’t matter where you come from, or how long you have been here because we are all Canadian! I wanted to make a pavilion where everyone felt at home because even if you identify with another culture, you can also identify with being Canadian. If you would like to help plan the Second Annual Canadian pavilion please do not hesitate to email me at alexpreston@shaw.ca or visit our website at www.caocs.ca. I look forward to working with you!
– Alexandra Preston
The Festival History
From Connect2 Edmonton Forum (By user: IanO)
In 1974 the Government of Alberta, acting through Minister of Culture Dr. Horst A. Schmidt, planted the seeds of the Edmonton Heritage Festival by declaring the first Monday in August an annual holiday to recognize and celebrate the varied cultural heritage of Albertans. That year and again in 1975, a multicultural concert was held at Fort Edmonton Park to celebrate Heritage Day. In 1976, however, eleven ethno-cultural communities banded together in Edmonton’s Hawrelak Park for a display of their cultures’ traditional cuisine, entertainment, interpretive materials, and crafts.
Greece dancing
From these humble beginnings a venerable August long-weekend institution has emerged: the Edmonton Heritage Festival is now in its 33nrd year of operation, and has grown from a one-day event into a three-day celebration of cultural diversity with pavilions ranging from Aboriginal to Welsh, and all points between.
Since its inception, attendance at The Edmonton Heritage Festival has, with a few weather-related exceptions, climbed steadily, culminating in a record 370,000-420,000 people in attendance during the 2006 edition. Our mission is to promote public awareness, understanding and appreciation for cultural diversity through an annual summer festival as well as to provide educational events, programs and/or projects on a year-round basis.
The Edmonton Heritage Festival is specifically designed to be a family-friendly, alcohol-free event, in which each pavilion is able independently to offer a sampling of their unique foods, entertainment, arts and crafts, and customs. Patrons of the Edmonton Heritage Festival have also been responsible for making our event the Edmonton Food Bank’s single largest annual food drive, wherein approximately 50,000 kilograms of food is collected each year.
The Festival is organized by the non-profit Edmonton Heritage Festival Association, with new offices at 10125-157 Street.
http://www.heritage-festival.com/
Tags: Edmonton heritage
