Culturama explodes onto Steinbach stage

Four years ago, Culturama was a simple event. For three consecutive evenings, people could come to the Pat Porter Active Living Centre and learn about other cultures. An educational affair, it was low-key and informative.

And while that educational component is still there, Pat Porter Active Living Centre and Eastman Immigrant Services have turned the annual tradition into a six-day celebration.

“When we started it was just an opportunity to share cultures and understand and learn,” Audrey Harder, Pat Porter Active Living Centre executive director said. “I think what it’s grown into is we’re celebrating cultures, we’re not just learning, we’re not just trying to understand.”

“We’re having a good time,” she added. “It’s a nice evening where you get a really great picture of a culture and get to meet people from there. It’s really become a lot larger than I expected.”

While the week began with a celebration of Ukrainian culture, that was only the beginning.

Tuesday saw the Filipino culture on display while Wednesday featured Korea. Thursday will showcase Nigeria and Brazil, Friday will host India/Punjab and Saturday will feature Cuba.

Doors open each night at 6 p.m. with the show getting underway at 6:30 p.m. Visitors enjoy the show, displays and a snack for the $10 ticket.

Mayor Earl Funk spoke about the advantages that diversity brings to Steinbach.

“In 2010, when I got elected as a councillor first, this city was nothing like it is today,” he said. “The cultures that we’ve been able to embrace and celebrate in so many ways have made us such a rich community.”

“It’s exciting to see that diversity grow,” he added.

Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen agreed.

“Things have changed significantly,” he said of his hometown and region. “I used to say that if I wanted to see the world when I was young, I had to get on a plane and go see the world. Now the world’s come to Steinbach and what a difference and a positive impact it is.”

“You’ve made our community better,” he said to those in attendance.

Leanne Germain, organizer of the Ukraine evening, said she was still excited the following day.

“I am still filled with adrenaline from yesterday’s showcase and just the amount of people that attended,” she said. “I’m still just bouncing off the wall here because the energy was through the roof.”

Not only did visitors get to watch traditional dance, eat traditional foods and hear traditional music, they got to take part as well.

Volunteers from the audience learned to dance while others tried their hands at perogy making.

Germain said events like this bring people together.

“It shows respect for people and appreciation for diversity because we all know that there are many cultures that are living in the Steinbach area and having an event that showcases some of them is just a great event for the community,” she said.

Now that her turn on the stage is done, Germain said she’s eager to experience what awaits.

“We are all looking forward to all the other cultures,” she said. “It’s going to be a good week for Steinbach.”