Folklorama unites Canadians of all ethnicities

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/08/2015 (3711 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On Wednesday night, I found myself sitting at a cafeteria table with a bunch of strangers in an elementary school gymnasium, watching a high-octane tae kwon do demonstration set to Korean pop music.

Where else but Folklorama could you have such a surreal experience?

First, a confession: before I finagled my way onto Wednesday night’s VIP bus tour — which is kind of like a pub crawl for the older set — I hadn’t been to the festival since I was a teenager. Back then, it was mostly obligatory. I dutifully supported the pavilions friends were representing as proud and vaguely embarrassed youth ambassadors, decked out in resplendent cultural dress so far removed from the jeans and T-shirts I saw them in every day.

But once I got there, I was always struck by the strong sense of community. And I always had fun. I loved seeing the fruits of the dance classes they spent their evenings and weekends in. I admired how connected many of them were to their roots; it made me want to learn more about mine. Like many third-generation Canadians, I have roots in many countries: Italy, Austria, Ireland, Scotland and England, to name a few.

I forgot about what a gem Folklorama can be, and was reminded Wednesday night by my fellow tour-mates — such as Sophia Podrozny. The 54-year-old from Guelph, Ont., is in town for Folklorama with her 22-year-old daughter, Deanna Marostica. Podrozny is something of a folklore festival connoisseur. She figures she’s been to more than 100 all over North America over the past 20-odd years. “I’ve been in strollers at these festivals,” quipped Marostica.

Podrozny grew up with the Toronto International Caravan, the famed, weeklong Folklorama-style multicultural festival that began in 1969 and ran until 2004. “I’ve always wanted to come to Folklorama,” Podrozny says. And when she saw that 2015 marked the 50th anniversary of Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin, she thought, “That’s it, I have to go.” I asked her later how Folklorama stacks up, seeing as she’s something of an expert. She said it was fantastic.

Folklorama can be an emotional experience. I met Angela Brandt in cultural display room at the Korean pavilion where her husband, Sheldon, was playing Yut Nori, a board game that would be very confusing after a couple of drinks. I casually asked her what she liked about Folklorama, and her eyes filled with tears.

“I bet you’re not used to people crying,” she said, wiping her eyes with a laugh. “They’re always like, ‘the food’ right?”

Turns out that Brandt, a counsellor at Springs Christian Academy, had recently said goodbye to Wooseok Kang, a Korean exchange student who was living with her. “It’s scary sometimes when someone comes to Canada and doesn’t speak English. I took him under my wing,” she said. “He’s a great kid, and we miss him.”

Being in the Korean Pavilion reminded her just how much she misses him. “I walked in here, and it just hit me,” she said.

People come from far and wide for Folklorama.

At the Greek Pavilion, I met Paulette Haldeman, 62, of Dickinson, N.D., and her mother, Bettie Haverluk, 83, of Richmond, Wash. Haverluk took a 25-hour train ride to Williston, N.D., and the pair drove to Winnipeg, arriving just in time for the bus to the first pavilion. Haldeman has a huge laugh, grabs your arm when she’s excited and was so pumped to hear Zorba’s Dance that she clapped her hands. She was having a great time; you could see it in her face.

Sheila and Robert Shephard from Saint John, N.B., were also Folklorama first-timers. The couple has a goal to visit every province and territory, and Manitoba was next on their list. “I work at a veterinary clinic in Saint John, and a woman came in with her puppy. She had just moved from Manitoba, and she said there’s only one time to go to Winnipeg and that’s for Folklorama.”

The Shephards are doing bus tours every night this week, which means they will hit 21 pavilions. They’ve loved their time in Winnipeg, and they told me stories of their travels. They’ve met people from all over the world travelling Canada, including an Israeli couple in Victoria last year whose son had just been conscripted into the Israeli army. “It’s one of those things: we’ll never see them again, but we’ll never forget them,” Sheila said.

I will likely never see any of the folks I met at Folklorama again either, but I was thankful for the chance to meet them. There’s something quaint about being able to gather in church basements and school gyms all over the city and learning a bit more about each other — through food, entertainment and displays, yes, but also just by talking to each other.

I was probably in Grade 1 or 2 when I was first introduced to the idea that Canada is a cultural mosaic and not a melting pot — which seemed, to my young mind, to be another way of saying that Canada is not the United States. But multiculturalism remains an important piece of Canada’s identity, one we shouldn’t lose sight of.

Folklorama is a reminder of the diversity that exists here — and the diversity that exists within our own DNA, too.

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca