Released 12/11/2022
The 2023 National Multicultural Festival is shaping up to be a fitting celebration of the 25th anniversary with an array of food, dance, music, cultural displays and, for the first time, a program of multicultural workshops.
More than 260 stallholders have now been offered a place at the festival, including community food vendors, multicultural and information stalls, commercial operators and diplomatic missions.
Joining stallholders at the festival will be 96 local groups that have received $180,000 in funding grants to participate in the 25th National Multicultural Festival.
Returning in 2023 after two pandemic-affected years, the festival will run from 17 to 19 February, returning to the city and for the first time expanding to Glebe Park. More information about the festival location will be available in the coming weeks.
Minister for Multicultural Affairs Tara Cheyne said, “I am pleased to report the 2023 National Multicultural Festival grants received the highest number of applications ever, showing the multicultural communities of Canberra are ready for the festival to return – and they are not alone! I know the wider Canberra community is excited for the festival to be back in 2023.”
The grants support Canberra’s multicultural groups to participate in the famous festival parade - helping with costs such as costumes and musical instruments - as well as host cultural performance showcases. New to this year were cultural activity grants to hold workshops at the festival.
Many new and emerging multicultural community groups have received these grants for the 2023 festival, which will for the first time have an Afghan Showcase, adding to well-loved favourites like the Latin Carnivale and Pacific Islands Showcase.
“Canberra’s Afghan community will address the event with great pride to contribute to the blaze of this vivid festival,” said Faisal Pirzad, Vice President of the Canberra Afghan Committee.
"Afghan poet, Rumi Balki once said ‘Everything that is made beautiful, fair and lovely is for the eye of one who sees.’”
Other cultural workshops under the new grants category will involve dance, art, language and activities including:
- how to wear an Indian sari or Korean hanbok
- kung fu and tai chi
- bush dancing
- Appalachian Mountain Clogging
- Tongan language greetings
- how to write your name using the Ancient Egyptian Coptic alphabet
Louise Frodyma, President, Silver Soles Cloggers Inc said the group is excited to bring a clogging workshop to festival.
“We are looking forward to giving people the chance to come and try clogging for themselves and also learn a bit about the vast and colourful history of the dance style,” she said.
More information about how to join the workshops will be available on the festival website closer to the event date.
The festival is also now seeking volunteers to support the event.
“The festival is a great event on the Canberra calendar, fostering cross-cultural awareness, promoting understanding and respect, and celebrating our cultural and language diversity. Many of us have attended the festival over the years. Joining the festival as a volunteer - even for a brief time - gives a whole new perspective and experience,” Minister Cheyne said.
Each year, more than 500 volunteers play a crucial role in bringing the festival to life and include information assistants, emcees and stage managers.
To find out more about the festival including details on the volunteer opportunities available, visit www.multiculturalfestival.com.au
- Statement ends -
Tara Cheyne, MLA | Media Releases