The welcome return of Folklorama

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/08/2022 (275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Folklorama returned and for the month of August I had a great time exploring the world by attending Folklorama pavilions. This year I had the opportunity to attend the Métis, Portuguese, Ukraine-Kyiv, Scotland, Irish, Punjab, Spirit of Ukraine, Italian and Celtic pavilions. It was so nice to see Folklorama back and I know I am not alone with this thought, as tens of thousands of people, once again, attended the shows over two weeks.

Back on Oct 12, 2021, I introduced a resolution of support for Folklorama in the Manitoba legislature, where several MLAs took the time to express their thoughts about how valuable Folklorama is to our province and express gratitude for all past and present Folklorama volunteers. When the debate came to an end, the resolution was unanimously supported and passed. Earlier this year, in recognition of the resolution’s passing and the fact that Folklorama was coming back after a two-year pandemic absence, we had a get-together at the legislature to reflect on the resolution and gave a special shout-out to all past and present volunteers for their promotion of Manitoba’s rich cultural heritage and diversity.

As there are every year, there were many highlights at each of the pavilions I visited, but I particularly enjoyed learning about the origins of various dance styles, and all the live music. An immense amount of work goes into Folklorama every year and I value the efforts of the thousands of volunteers who created a world-class event displaying Canada’s diversity in so many ways.

Folklorama first started as a one-time event and has grown into an annual festival across Winnipeg that is now recognized around the world. To this day, it is recognized as the largest and longest-running festival of its kind in the world, which was determined by the international council of organizations for folklore festivals and folk arts.

In addition to the pavilions that run every summer, Folklorama has gone out of its way to be accessible to our schools, child-care centres and day camps through workshops and performances that work with students and groups of any grade and age to create an adventure of culture with the goal of helping students respect and appreciate cultural differences, all while meeting the school curriculum.

It is evident how Folklorama is an incredible part of our social fabric and pride here in Manitoba and I want to extend the biggest thank you to all volunteers who have made our province so proud. Thank you for all the work you have done, all the dedication over the years, and we look forward to more Folklorama!

Cindy Lamoureux
Tyndall Park constituency report

Cindy Lamoureux is the Liberal MLA for Tyndall Park.

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