Highlights of the 45th annual Folklorama were on display July 24 to show off some of the best of what this year’s festival has to offer.
Organizers of the largest and longest-running multicultural festival in the world are sharing authentic cultural food, high-energy performances and interactive displays, as a sample of the unique events and pavilions happening this year.
Ambassadors dressed in cultural attire will be in attendance to represent Folklorama.
Folklorama takes place between Aug. 3 and Aug. 16.
Two new pavilions are coming to Folklorama in 2014. One is a United Kingdom pavilion. It brings together the cultures of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The other is an Andean pavilion, showcasing the culture of people who live in and along the Andes Mountains. These countries include Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay.
This year the Argentinian pavilion is back. It has a pavilion every second year.
A Chinese pavilion is also back after a hiatus for a few years.
Folklorama co-founder, and former restaurant operator, Mary Kelekis said she and others involved in launching the festival more than four decades ago didn't anticipate how long it would continue.
"It's unbelievable. We never thought it would last 45 years," she said.
The idea of Folklorama was born out of a group of people who noticed the large number of ethnic communities making Winnipeg their new home.
Kelekis said she never tires of the festival and its diversity.
