North End Neighbour Culture Fest celebrates diversity in Winnipeg community

Saturday's wet weather didn't stop community members from celebrating culture and diversity in Winnipeg's North End neighbourhood on May 25, 2024. (Zachary Kitchen/CTV News)

Community members from across Winnipeg celebrated diverse backgrounds in the city’s North End neighbourhood Saturday, as part of the area’s first multicultural festival.

While the North End Neighbours Culture Fest street party was rained out and cancelled, visitors were able to continue the party indoors with a number of different performances, vendors and artists, all within the Ukrainian Labour Temple.

“It's just a one day festival celebrating all the cultures in the North End,” said Emily Halldorson, the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians Winnipeg branch vice-president. “Everyone is having a fun time getting together.”

Halldorson said the festival pays tribute to the neighbourhood’s diversity, while also reflecting multiculturalism in Winnipeg as a whole.

“A lot of Eastern European folks have roots in the North End, and there's also a huge Indigenous community in the North End, and many other communities here. So just celebrating all of that,” she said.

Aside from the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians, Saturday’s festival featured other community groups including United Jewish Peoples Order, Winnipeg Chilean Association, Federation of Latin American Associations in Manitoba, Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba, Friends of the Cuban Arts and Mount Carmel Clinic.

“All of these organizations, we haven't worked together before, but we've been learning about each other and working together over the last little while getting this celebration happening,” Halldorson said.