Oriental Dance Troupe of Ottawa performs at the Pembroke Multicultural Festival (Photo: Pembroke Multicultural Festival)
When was the last time you enjoyed a great curry here in Pembroke? Or perhaps a real authentic Hungarian goulash in The Ottawa Valley? If the answer is seldom or never you are going to have your chance to taste the world at the annual Pembroke Multicultural Festival.
The 10th annual Festival, hosted by the Pembroke Public Library, returns July 18–19 at the Pembroke Waterfront and Riverwalk Amphitheatre. This two-day event celebrates cultural diversity with live performances, global cuisine, artisan vendors, interactive workshops, and more. Join your community in recognizing the traditions and stories that enrich Pembroke.
Karthi Rajamani, CEO of the Pembroke Library and principal organizer says that the Festival has come a long way since the first one in 2015:
The City of Pembroke has seen an explosion in cultural diversity in recent years so an event like this is no longer a novelty for the region but has become a staple of the summer entertainment landscape here in Pembroke and all over the Valley.
Pembroke Mayor Ron Gervais has been intimately involved in the Festival over his years on the Library Board and he is very aware of the importance of newcomers to the City as far as a steady influx of tax dollars making events like this possible.
Back in 2015 for the inaugural Festival it was pretty much Karthi and one other individual who put this together but today there is a whole Team of volunteers and sponsors behind the scenes making sure that everything is ready to go for the throngs who are expected to attend.
Upwards of 15 or more food vendors are expected to be offering mouth watering ethnic dishes to tempt taste buds and there will also be lots of unique multicultural wares for sale over the two day Festival. The influx of tourists coming into town for the Festival is something that mayor Gervais says is truly positive thing from every perspective:
For all the information you need on this very important event on the Pembroke summer calendar go to pembrokemulticulturalfestival.ca. See you there!
(Written By: Richard Evans)
