Folklorama, an annual cultural two-week festival that runs in Winnipeg every August, is hitting a big milestone this year.
With just over a month before it begins, preparations are in full swing for its 50th year.
“It was meant to be a one-time event for the Manitoba centennial,” says Folkorama executive director Teresa Cotroneo. “It was so popular that here we are 50 years later.”
In celebration of the event, there will be an honorary street naming and a flag raising at city hall. Cotroneo says they’ve also encouraged pavilions to incorporate a retrospective of their past involvement in the festival.
“So guests can see how each community has changed throughout the years,” she says.
Since its inception, Folklorama has become well known as one of the largest and longest-running multicultural festivals of its kind. Each location includes a variety of cultural entertainment, artwork, and food. In its first year there were only 21 pavilions. This year they are up to 45, including a new Egyptian pavilion.
Long-time Winnipeg resident Alice Simpson has been to Folklorama many times, and says it's impossible to pick a favourite pavilion.
"I like them all, there isn't one I wouldn't want to go to," she says. "The foods are fascinating, the ones we're not familiar with. And some have very beautiful dancing.”
Folklorama is also holding its annual Kick-Off at Assiniboine Park Lyric Theatre on July 27. The family-friendly event is free and will feature presentations from all the pavilions and a celebratory cake.
Cotroneo says one of the reasons Folklorama has stayed so popular is that it has become a large part of the fabric of the community.
“I think there’s a curiosity about where we come from and how that actually moulds us into who we are,” she says. “(We’re) definitely more united because of our differences.”
Simpson says it's wonderful that the festival has stood the test of time, and that it does a good job of representing the city.
"It just goes to show the spirit that we still have in our city, that we love to see how other people live their lives," she says. "We're made up of people from all kinds of backgrounds, and it makes us richer."
