Folklorama pavilions welcome 426K visitors

Winnipeggers said ciao, au revoir and arrivederci to the 46th Folklorama festival on Sunday.

Folklorama is the world’s largest and longest-running multicultural festival and it drew an estimated 426,000 visitors to its 43 pavilions over the last two weeks.

Many of those would-be world travelers in Winnipeg were tourists from around the globe.

There were 120 tour groups, some of them hailing from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, England, Germany, Ireland, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, and St. Lucia, according to a Folklorama press release.

A jolly good time was had by all

The United Kingdom pavilion at Folklorama was held between Aug. 2 and 8 at the Punjab Cultural Centre (1770 King Edward St.). The pavilion was sponsored by the Windsor Park-based McConnell School of Dance Students Association.  

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The colours of Folklorama

There are just a few days left to take in the sights and sounds of Folklorama before it wraps up on Aug. 15. The Sou’wester stopped by two local pavilions to capture the excitement of the annual multicultural festival.

Take a look at our slideshow below:

The colours of Folklorama

There are just a few days left to take in the sights and sounds of Folklorama before it wraps up on Aug. 15. The Sou’wester stopped by two local pavilions to capture the excitement of the annual multicultural festival.

Dance and celebrate

A dancer performs at Folklorama’s Ethiopian Pavilion on Sat., Aug. 8, at the Ethiopian Cultural Centre (215 Selkirk Ave.).

Key of Bart – Folklorama

Love Folklorama? Bartley Kives doesn't.Adapted from Oklahoma! Rodgers & Hammerstein 1943 Broadway production. Vocals & production by Kris Ulrich. Video editing by Melissa Tait.

Celtic-Ireland pavilion serving up delicious dance, eats

It’s easy being green.

With folklorama now in full swing, the Celtic-Ireland pavilion is once again entertaining audiences in southeast Winnipeg. The pavilion is located at Fort Garry Curling Club (696 Archibald St.) and will run until Sat., Aug. 8. 

 The pavilion’s co-ordinators are Philip Brady, owner and director of the Brady Academy of Irish Dance (in Winnipeg and Saskatoon) and Angie Baran. Adult ambassadors are Alexanndria Lillies and Karen Lynn Miller, and youth ambassadors are Eve Baran and Devlin Brady. The pavilion is sponsored by the Brady Academy Parents Association.

Now in his 12th year running the pavilion, Brady said one of the highlights is still the magical feeling of watching the kids from his dance school perform.

Volunteer ‘awestruck’ by Folklorama memories

FOLKLORAMA is on until Aug. 15, and although it was more than 30 years ago, Zaleena Salaam still remembers the first time she attended the festival.

She was about to go into Grade 5, and the first site she visited was the Ukraine-Kyiv Pavilion.

“The colours, the movement on stage, the dancers and the energy they had sticks out in my mind,” said the 49-year-old West St. Paul resident. “I was awestruck.”

Salaam has been hooked on the festival and its two-week celebration of cultures from around the world ever since.

How to cycle the world in 14 days?

They're pedalling around the world in 14 days.

Newly engaged Michael Horbay and Lisa Kappel, both 45, are self-described "avid" cyclists and runners. In summers past, their bikes have taken them across the city, from Bombers games to The Forks and places between. Last year, they cycled to 14 different Folklorama pavilions. This year, they're hoping to top that, biking to all of the 43 pavilions during the festival.

"Second day in, it's been an awesome adventure and Lisa and I are just pumped," said Horbay Monday evening, the second night of the festival.

Already, he and his fiancée had been to three pavilions -- Germany, Hungary and Ethiopia -- and were about to head out to three more: the Philippines, Portugal and Spain.

Folklorama 2015 – Day 1 in pictures

The 2015 Folklorama Festival kicked off Sunday, Aug. 2 and runs until Aug. 15.Photos by John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press

A man of many talents

Portage la Prairie’s Ted Meseyton calls himself the Singing Gardener and Grow-it Poet and he has the fruit, vegetables and words to back up his title.

The longtime Portage resident said he believes every person should use their natural talents. His include musical skills, the ability to write prose, poetry and song lyrics, and a green thumb.

Meseyton combines his zeal for growing plants with his love of writing in the gardening column he’s written for Grainews, an agricultural newspaper, for the past nine years. His columns contain practical advice on improving plant growth through natural methods and his replies to questions sent in by readers from across western Canada and Ontario. He sometimes slips in a poem as well.

He said his overall writing tone is folksy, and readers seem to enjoy what he writes as was demonstrated by a strong response to his offer made earlier this year of free packages of heritage tomato seeds.

Party the Romanian way

With Folklorama in full swing, make sure to set aside some time next week to visit the Romanian Pavilion.

Located in the Bronx Community Centre (720 Henderson Hwy.), the Romanian Pavilion promises “an amazing evening among your Romanian friends” from Aug. 9 to 15.

“When you come to our pavilion, you’ll feel as though you’re at home,” said Isabela Giubega. “Romanians are super welcoming.”

Giubega has been involved with the Romanian Pavilion for the past 13 years, first as a youth dancer. This year, she’s dancing with the adult group, helping develop the choreography for the youth dancers, and is acting as social media co-ordinator, but over the years she’s done it all.“I’ve worn a lot of hats,” she said, laughing.

Enjoy Croatian hospitality

As a child, Danica Brnjas spent her summers in her parents’ homeland of Croatia.

As an adult, travelling to Southeast Europe ever year isn’t as easy, so she brings Croatia to Canada.

The 25-year-old is the adult ambassador of the Croatian Pavilion “Zagreb” at Folklorama. The celebration, named after Croatia’s capital city, runs Aug. 2 to 8 at West Kildonan Collegiate (101 Ridgecrest Ave.).

Brnjas started participating in the Croatian pavilion as a dancer at age five. This year marks her fifth as an ambassador.  

Test your singing skills at pavilion

The Japanese invented karaoke, but if you ask Tyler Magnaye, Filipino people perfected it.

The 25-year-old is the adult ambassador of the Pearl of the Orient Philippine Pavilion at Folklorama. The pavilion, operated by Magdaragat Philippines Inc., runs Aug. 2 to 8 at R.B. Russell Vocational School (364 Dufferin Ave.).

Magnaye, who is participating in the pavilion for the 21st time, said karaoke is a favourite pastime in The Philippines.

“Don’t challenge a Filipino to karaoke, because we take it very seriously,” Magnaye said at the Folklorama launch event on July 23 at RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg.