Culture is important; it is a part of an identity. Remembering where you came from is a part of discovering who you are and celebrating the roots of yourself.

The Southern Alberta Ethnic Association (SAEA) will be celebrating Colombian culture today at the Multicultural Centre.

Anastasia Sereda, the program coordinator of SAEA, said food is a way to celebrate different cultures and countries at the taste of events.

“The Taste of Colombia is one of our kind of staple programs. (At) The Southern Alberta Ethnic Association we do “Taste Of” events, then we feature different countries or different holidays, different cultural groups' celebrations. So Taste of Colombia is just a celebration of Colombian culture through food. There is a three-course Colombian meal. And there is entertainment,” said Sereda.

The entertainment at the Taste of Colombia will be presented by the Latin Rev Band. This event is not only hosted by SAEA but also by the Colombian Cultural Club of Lethbridge. Sereda said it has been hard for groups to host these types of events post-pandemic.

“We have sort of slowed down a little bit on that, based on if we have a festival going on or some other kind of event going on in the month. Our “Taste Of” of events is a way of sharing cultures through food. . . Coming out of the pandemic, it’s actually been I think, quite hard on a lot of groups. And also, the increasing cost of food kind of makes it a lot more difficult for groups to put on a big meal,” she said.

The event will start at 5:30 p.m. The dinner portion of the event begins at 6:30 and will finish at 10. Sereda warns people to purchase tickets beforehand.

SAEA is a not-for-profit charity and has been operating since 1977. Their vision is to promote understanding, awareness and celebrate diversity in the community of cultures through events.

Other events are coming up in May, Sereda said.

“In May, we won’t have a “Taste Of” event because we have the Asian Heritage Festival, and we actually also have a sake and sushi night. We have a lot of Asian heritage-themed things going on. We have sake and sushi night on May 2, which is this coming Tuesday. We have an international film night coming up on May 19th, and then the Asian Heritage Days Festival on May 27th,” she said.

If you are looking to partake in the Taste of Colombia event and would like to purchase late tickets, you can contact 403-320-1577 or email info@saea.ca to purchase tickets. For other events visit www.saea.ca to view the event calendar.

Steffanie Costigan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lethbridge Herald