After an absence of four years, Culturama proved to be just as popular as organizers had hoped, drawing about 1,200 people to the Memorial Sports Centre here Saturday.
“We’re quite pleased with the results,” said Linda Rajala of the Rainy Lake Multicultural Association, who organized the event along with Ron Bernardi, Sig Mosley, and Bev Kotnik.
“It was a lot of hard work but it was a lot of fun,” she added. “Hopefully, we can do it again next year. But for right now, we’re just catching our breath.”
“I thought it was fabulous,” echoed Kotnik. “The number of people came up to us and said ‘Thank you for bringing back Culturama’ was great.”
Local resident Marj Hull was one of those people. “It was absolutely enjoyable,” she enthused.
“This kind of thing is good for the town, and now that they have a beautiful arena with good acoustics to have it in, we want them to keep it going,” she remarked.
Things got underway at 12:30 p.m. with the Fort Frances Highlanders marching to the stage as part of the opening ceremonies for Fun in the Sun 2000. After a ribbon-cutting by Mayor Glenn Witherspoon and NDP leader Howard Hampton, the stage was cleared for the energetic Zarya Ukrainian dancers.
Next up was “Gypsy Moon,” a duo featuring a belly dancer and a fire eater, who not only lived up to his namesake but also had a cement block broken with a sledge hammer while he lay on a bed of nails.
Then the crowd got a double-shot of Irish cheer, starting with the light-footed McConnell Irish Dancers and followed by the Irish Tavern Singers.
“Being one part Irish, I’m partial to the Irish Tavern Singers. I even got their tape,” noted Hull. “And those McConnell Dancers–nobody can dance like the Irish.”
They were followed the thunderous sounds of the Taiko Drummers, whose elaborate rhythms provided a taste of Japanese culture. Then the laid-back sounds of “Rockalypso,” who blended reggae, rock, and calypso, encouraged people to get up and dance.
The final act was the Multicultural Youth Group from Thunder Bay.
A second session ran Saturday night starting at 7 p.m.
“The entertainment was excellent–everyone seemed to comment on the quality of it,” said Rajala, adding her personal favourite was the Taiko Drummers.
Younger children also got the chance to learn to play African drums from percussion expert Jay Stoller, and “Squire Lawrie,” a medieval jester, gave them something to laugh about while showing off his sleight-of-hand skills.
The tasty food associated with Culturama also was served up Saturday, including fried fish and bannock, Swedish cookies, bratwurst, sauerkraut, fried rice, chicken balls, and more.
Kotnik noted she was happy to see so many volunteers willing to help out. “I think the fact it was only one day was key to getting volunteers,” she reasoned. “We had a lot willing to help out.”
Culturama was made possible through money raised during the association’s Sunday night Bingos over the past year.
In related news, the RLMA won’t be resting on its laurels. Members will be selling food at Pither’s Point on Canada Day this Saturday, as well as helping out with the 50/50 Bingo that afternoon.
And Kotnik said an Oktoberfest was in the works for this fall.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
