On Aug. 24, over 300 people enjoyed free music and cultural displays at Campbell River’s All the World Lives Here event at the Spirit Square.
A dozen booths showcased different cultures for Campbell Riverites and included nearly every continent.
“I was at the Mythbusters booth asking people to vote for the next ad to go on one of our local city transit buses. With great participation, the winning ad was a photo and quote by Lucilla Grotto, owner of Facile Web & Graphic, stating ‘Immigrants are Campbell River’s window to the larger world, connecting us to global markets.’ Lucilla makes a great point and although immigrants can help connect us to the larger world, the Immigrant Welcome Centre helps connect immigrants within our community,” said Vienna Yeung, Projects Coordinator at the Immigrant Welcome Centre.
The event helped kick off a new database of cultural performers and groups designed to help connect them with the public. As there is currently no online listing outlet for local performers and cultural groups, the Campbell River Community Foundation funded the Immigrant Welcome Centre to start up the database.
If your group or performance has a cultural history, whether you are a band, dancer, puppeteer, martial artist, teach tai chi or choir, you can be a part of this one-stop-shop so the public is able to access your group and your services.
The listing will be found at www.ImmigrantWelcome.ca which is currently undergoing an extreme makeover and should be ready in the upcoming months.
“The community demonstrated the need for this listing as we often get phone calls asking about entertainers. We thought, why not gather everyone’s information together and put it online in one convenient spot to promote diversity and showcase what our community has to offer? There is quite an array of entertainers and cultures here, they just need an outlet to promote themselves. We thank the Campbell River Community Foundation for supporting us in this endeavor,” said Rachel Blaney, Executive Director of the Immigrant Welcome Centre.
If you would like to sign up, visit www.ImmigrantWelcome.ca for more information or contact Shannon Briggs at 250-830-0171 ext. 810 or email Shannon.Briggs@ImmigrantWelcome.ca.