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Saint John holds 10th annual Multicultural Festival of Colours this weekend

The 10th annual Multicultural Festival of Colours kicks off this weekend, bringing with it a celebration of diversity, human rights, and culture from around the world — and centralizing these values in the heart of Saint John.

In the past decade, the festival has grown a lot since its humble beginnings, when it consisted of a tent behind two buses at Exhibition Park. This weekend, the celebration will be held at the Diamond Jubilee Cruise Terminal.

Melana Iverson, the executive director of the Multicultural Association of Saint John and project co-ordinator for the festival, said the festival was started to celebrate different cultures from both a historical and modern perspective.

"In summary, it's our peace project: participation acceptance, equality acceptance, cultural expression and education," she told CBC's Information Morning Saint John.

"So anything that falls within that … we embrace that."

But the free event is also an opportunity to have some fun, said Iverson. The festival will feature music, art, vendors, and lots of dancing — including belly dancing, traditional Filipino stick dancing and Scottish highland dancing.

Facebook/Multicultural Association of Saint John
Facebook/Multicultural Association of Saint John

Iverson said all the participants reside in the Saint John area, which is a big change from when the festival first began.

"The first year, we brought in a lot of cultural acts from Fredericton because I really wasn't aware of our cultural community at the time," she said.

"That put fire under everybody, and [we] said, 'Well, we want to participate.'"

While Iverson said the festival has always had a good turnout, the association always hopes to "get more bums in the seats."

Both new and established singer-songwriters will play a big part, said Iverson.

Don't Tell Roy, a musical trio from Saint John, along with the duo Doug and Bailey Boyer, will perform both on Saturday and Sunday. Plenty of solo acts will also perform, she said.

Iverson said there will also be opportunities to mentor new and emerging young artists.

Facebook/Multicultural Association of New Brunswick
Facebook/Multicultural Association of New Brunswick

Doug Boyer, an instructor at the New Brunswick Community College, will be offering lessons on stage, sound and technical direction so young people can learn how to put on a live musical show.

Iverson said people are also welcome to bring their own instruments so they can participate in their own way.

"We pride ourselves on being flexible, we want to hear the talent in our community," she said, adding that the festival will welcome any drop-in volunteers who might want to lend a hand.

The festival combines "a little bit of everything," said Iverson.

"It's everything you want it to be. It's created every year based on the people that want to participate and what they would like to do."

The Multicultural Festival of Colours runs at the Diamond Jubilee Cruise Terminal on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Facebook/Multicultural Association of New Brunswick
Facebook/Multicultural Association of New Brunswick