Bonnyville’s first “Bonnyville Around The World” celebration brought more than 200 people together under sunny skies August 7.

Bonnyville residents from 10 countries and four continents displayed their cultures, clothing, and cuisine at individual booths, while local residents from many backgrounds turned up to join in the fun.

Organizer Samira Saadi from Bonnyville FCSS and Lakeland Family Resource Centre was clearly pleased with how well the event came together.

“The weather is great and it’s a very good crowd and I love it,” she said. “Everybody’s happy, and I’m already getting feedback from people.”

Besides the various cultural booths and displays, there was very little formal programming. Filipino dancers delighted spectators with a couple of selections, but mostly people toured the booths, struck up conversations, and mingled.

Young people picked up a friendly impromptu soccer game.

Saadi said the event showed Bonnyville’s spirit.

“It’s showing how diversity is beautiful,” she said. “Bonnyville has a lot of people coming from different areas, the goal of this event is to bring people together, to connect, to learn. You can see they’re asking questions, learning about different cultures.

“That’s what we want to show, how diversity is really beautiful in our community. Let’s all celebrate, let’s all connect and learn from each other.”

A little flag-waving helps tell the story. **JEFF GAYE**

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The world meets up in Bonnyville