The festival was operated by World Multicultural, a not-for-profit federal incorporation, with the support of the City of Ottawa, local business vendors, and members from different backgrounds. [Photo @ Thuy Anh Nguyen]
The World Multicultural Festival 2023: A Celebration to Remember
By Thuy Anh Nguyen
December 1, 2023
4 min read
The World Multicultural Festival brought local communities in Ottawa together to celebrate inclusiveness by offering them a warm Saturday full of arts and music performances.
The event was held on Nov. 25, 2023, at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, offering vibrant performances from 70 countries worldwide, including Turkey, Poland, and South Korea.
Their mission was to increase awareness about the diversity between different communities of the world living in Canada and call for the need to appreciate different heritages by connecting people through arts, music, and fashion.
The festival promises every hour to be a multicultural hour, taking the attendees to travel around the globe visually and audibly.
The World Multicultural Festival attracted hundreds of participants, including families, individuals, and performers annually after being hosted for the first time in 2019.
People with different backgrounds and cultures are welcome to attend and enjoy the cultural celebration for free.
Fedra Mah, an Iranian, attended the event, saw this as an opportunity to enjoy the music and dance with her friends.
“It was amazing, it brings me closer to other cultures,” said Mah. “It’s a really happy atmosphere where you can make friends and get union.”
Performances and education workshops took place on the main stage, and multicultural vendors from goods, cuisine, and arts were at the back of the stage.
Osama Maqbool, one of the owners of Fab and Her & Nyla ChicDecor, whose vendors participate in the festival, selling handmade arts décor and Indian clothing, noted his perspective on multicultural festivals as an example to avoid assumptions.
“We want to convey peace and harmony between cultures and communities,” said Maqbool. “It’s really nice when people get under one roof and get to know more about each other to reduce any misunderstanding and beat stereotypes.”
The event was extensively promoted on websites, such as “Ottawa Tourism,” and “World Multicultural Festival,” and different platforms from social media to be featured on the CTV Morning News channel.
However, the festival is not just offering performances and cuisine to the attendees.
Education workshops from each country offered an open space for discussions on cultural topics.
The festival’s yearly pageant contest warmed up the atmosphere by showcasing contestants, both male and female, dressed in their traditional attire with pride on the stage.
Gulsum Bilgin, a Turk, attended the festival to support her friend, who represented Turkey in the pageant contest.
“It was my first time going to an event like this,” said Bilgin. “I love it and I don’t want to leave when I see other countries dancing and enjoying music.”
The festival proves to be a success, with hundreds of participants, and vendors selling out their products by the end of the day.