Assiniboia’s second Ethnic Jubilee proved to be a huge success, attracting upwards of 800 people for the day-long event on September 30. The Jubilee was part of Culture Days taking place in communities around Saskatchewan.
The event was located at the Curling Rink in the Prince of Wales Centre. It was colourfully decorated with flags from various countries draping a centre stage where non-stop performances entertained. Tables and chairs filled the centre and were ringed by food booths representing over a dozen different ethnic groups. The opening ceremony at mid-day began with “This Land is My Land” by the Assiniboia Community Choir followed by a parade of nations in which the stage performers and community members in traditional dress walked in a procession to the stage to sing “O Canada”.
This was followed by greetings from dignitaries including Wood River MLA David Marit, Assiniboia Mayor Bob Himbeault and Assiniboia and District Chamber president Kathy Kennedy. Mayor Himbeault noted that Assiniboia is over 100 years old and has welcomed citizens from all over the world. “It is phenomenal to see how this community has grown and how diverse we are,” Marit added.
The highlight of the event was the ethnic food being offered by 12 different vendors featuring Jamaican, Lebanese, Irish, Mexican, French, Russian and Moldovan, German, Filipino, East Indian, Chinese and Ukrainian cuisine. Peak periods were lunch and dinner but there was a steady stream of visitors sampling Jerk Chicken, Filipino rolled pork, samosas, Chinese spring rolls, French pastries, German Schnitzel, Irish stew and many more items.
The entertainment got started with NYK, an Afro-Caribbean band from Regina with members from Ghana, Trinidad, Jamaica, Haiti and Rouleau, Saskatchewan performing the music from each of these countries. Other bands included Back of the Bus, a Celtic band that played traditional Irish and Welsh songs as well as those heard on Canada’s East Coast. The Filipino band the Four Seasons ended the night with cover songs by contemporary artists. Christie-Ann Blondeau sang French songs with a voice that transported the audience to France. The musical performances also included Nadia Babchouk from Weyburn who played ultra-speedy Hutsul melodies, the traditional music from Ukraine’s mountain region on her violin.
The Jubilee committee also invited several dance troupes to perform. These included the Russian Folk Centre from Saskatoon featuring adult and children dancers in colourful dress. They recreated traditional Russian fairy-tales set to classical and contemporary music.
The Caribe Folk Arts Dance troupe presented a number of dances common throughout the Caribbean region. The KG Harmonie from Regina performed traditional Bavarian dances. Kawakatoose and Cowessess First Nations dancers and drummers performed such traditional dances as a healing dance and the grass dance. Scottish Country Dances came from Moose Jaw and the Prairie Gael Irish Dancers returned to the Ethnic Jubilee for the second time with their energetic young dancers. An audience favourite was the Maharlinka Filipino dance group from Regina that danced the pole dance requiring quick, intricate steps.
A Kids Corner supervised by Cecette Rhodes included several sets of activities. The children listened to the stage music as they worked on an activity book with a page from the ethnic groups represented by each of the vendors. The booklet contained pictures to colour, word finds and other games. The children also participated in a Scavenger Hunt searching for clues among the vendors to win a food ticket.
The Assiniboia and District Public Library had table displaying books about different countries.
