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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Kerem Doruk

Multicultural festival back and better than ever after hiatus

Ukrainian dance choreographer Paul Trukhanov is training dancers who will perform at the National Multicultural Festival. Picture by James Croucher

Have you ever wanted to wear an authentic Indian Sari or practice writing your own name in the ancient Egyptian Coptic alphabet?

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, you can finally get the chance as the multicultural festival returns this weekend.

There will be everything from Brazilian Samba, Afghan folk dancing and Greek dancing with an array of international culinary delights.

More than 200,000 people enjoyed the last festival in 2020 and organisers expect a big turnout for its return.

Ukrainian dance choreographer Paul Trukhanov has been training dancers in the lead-up to the event.

"Ukrainian culture tells amazing stories that will definitely surprise you. And now, when Ukraine is experiencing the cultural upsurge, is the best time to discover Ukrainian visual and performing arts, music and literature," Mr Trukhanov said.

The group will present a number of performances such as Polka, which is a very popular, energetic dance involving lots of jumps and spins.

They will also perform a second dance called Ivana Kupala, which is named after Kupala Night, a traditional Ukrainian summer holiday which involves dancing around a fire.

Canberra's only multicultural dance and performance school for young people, The Passion and Purpose academy, will perform a range of Afro hip-hop performances from 7pm to 11pm on Friday.

Dancer Camden George said they had been preparing since the start of the year for the festival and Canberrans should expect to see a lot of hype and be entertained by the show.

Canberra's proud Indian-Australian community will be presenting workshops where people can try their own saris and learn how to wear the garment.

President of the Federation of the Indian Association Shanti Reddy, vice-president Divya Ravikumar, and volunteer Karitha Ganesh performed a sari-wearing workshop with MLA Tara Cheyne. Picture by Kerem Doruk

President of the Federation of Indian Association Shanti Reddy said they were excited to host the Sari-wearing workshop, a henna demonstration and an authentic weaver from India who will be performing a handloom sari presentation.

"Canberra is a very multicultural community, we want to also learn from other cultures while we are presenting our own, our workshops are unique because you can participate and people wanting to have a go at wearing a sari can join," Mr Reddy said.

The festival won't be short of an ultimate culinary experience with hundreds of food stalls coming together to prepare their signature foods.

Shu Birch from the ACT Chinese Women Cultural Association will be presenting a Chinese dumpling cooking demo between 4pm and 5pm on Friday. Picture by Kerem Doruk

If you're a dumpling addict, you can find Mrs Birch's Chinese dumplings filled with delicious flavours at the City Walk stage.

"Canberra is a very multicultural society and we come from everywhere, that's why it's very important for us to know each other and know our different foods, dancing and singing," Mrs Birch said.

Minister for Multicultural Affairs Tara Cheyne officially launched the event on Monday, announcing the attendance of more than 30 community workshops and more than 100 individual performance groups.

"It is a spectacular event that we have in store for our community and visitors to the capital this coming weekend," she said.

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