Community culture celebrated at park
Event also drew attention to sister city
Acelebration of community culture and the 50th anniversary of the city’s twin sister relationship took place at Galt Gardens on Saturday. Community Culture Craze was an all-day event featuring live entertainment, food and refreshments, and a number of fun things for young children to take part in. There was also ample opportunity to learn more about the city’s relationship with the City of St Laurent, Quebec.
Kristen Schindel, St. Laurent coordinator with the City of Lethbridge, said the relationship between two cities is an important one.
“We’ve been participating in citizen exchanges for the past 50 years,” said Schindel. “Over that time, there have been 600 residents that have travelled across the country, between our two cities, celebrating culture.”
In conjunction with the celebration, the festival was also a celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation.
“It’s important for us to celebrate our unique and diverse cultures in the community,” Schindel said. “That’s why we’re doing this.”
She said it was also important to be able to celebrate the Sesquicentennial and promote bilingualism through the sister status of the two cities.
“We want people to come and have a good time,” she said. “There’s a lot happening in our city, and it’s a great time to be here.
“We just want people to take part in it, and maybe experience some culture while they are here, too.”
One of the organizations promoting healthy relationships between different cultural groups in the city is Arches, which was present on Saturday with two large teepees.
Chelsey DeGroot, the Indigenous Peer Co-ordinator for Lethbridge Arches, said the teepees promote Blackfoot representation in the area.
“We already do a teepee program every other Friday in the park so it’s a natural fit for us to be here,” she said.
“This is something (Indigenous people) can connect to,” she said. “They have a lot of knowledge that some people don’t pull on. So when we set (the teepee) up, we have people come right from the shelter help.
“There’s conversation, and they are enjoying themselves,” she said.
“This is important on a broader scale, and in the broader community.
“It’s also part of reconciliation. And we have Natives and non Natives sitting together, and even immigrants.
“It’s been quite cool, what we’ve created. And I think it’s important to recognize aboriginal people and street people are vulnerable people. They are still human beings, and they have a spirit. We need to recognize that. In order to heal as a community, we need to come together as a community.”