More than ever, the people who make up Bonnyville’s community are people who were born elsewhere—somewhere else in Canada, perhaps, or in another country altogether.

Bonnyville and District FCSS/Lakeland Family Resource Network (LFRN) is presenting “Bonnyville Around The World” on Friday, August 7. The event will celebrate the various world cultures that have all met up in town.

The idea is “to get people to ‘travel’ to many cultures from many countries, to discover and learn about it,” said LFRN hub coordinator Samiya Saadi.

Saadi came to Bonnyville from Morocco in 2014. “I was the only Moroccan girl here for many, many years,” she said.

“Now we’re a bunch of Moroccans, Indians, a lot of ethnicities. So we were thinking to have a multicultural event where everybody can come together, connect, learn about the culture, and bridge this isolation.”

She says she occasionally sees anonymous racist posts on social media. One benefit of everybody celebrating together, she said, is that by meeting your neighbours in person you can get to know them as individuals.

“We want to bring people together. Come learn, know the people because when you know your neighbour, you know the person and you learn about their culture, it might hold you back from saying something bad,” she said.

And it works both ways. When newcomers learn more about Canadian culture, they feel more comfortable participating in it.

“It’s prevention against isolation, against feeling left out,” Saadi said. “Everybody wants to show diversity and inclusion, and for the newcomers—do you want to learn about the Canadian culture? So it’s a fun event for families, and also educational and preventative.”

So far there are ten different cultural groups participating. The central event will be a free community barbecue, and there will be samples of different ethnic foods and other cultural exhibits and activities.

There will be a free photo booth, and young people can pick up a “passport” card and have it stamped by the various exhibitors. The completed cards are entered into a prize draw.

The event will be at Bonnyville Splash Park from 5:00 to 8:00 pm, weather permitting. If the forecast isn’t favourable, it will be moved to the C2 Centre.

“We’re hoping for very nice weather for the community and a very successful event,” Saadi said. “If it turns out very good, we want feedback from the community. It might be a yearly event. We’re hoping this is the first run.”

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Celebrate “Bonnyville Around The World” August 7