Winnipeg hosted its third annual Newcomer Welcome Fair for Newcomers event Saturday afternoon.
The event started with about 900 newcomers in 2016 but has now grown to about 2,000, organizers said. It originally hosted Syrian refugees but now welcomes people from across the world.
“We had a whole lot of Indigenous people who live in the neighbourhood,” said chief organizer Abdikheir Ahmed. “Other Canadian communities came out and said, ‘this is wonderful, we welcome new Canadians to our community.’ And they said, ‘why don’t we do it every year, and expand it to not only Syrians but to everybody?”
Several different cultures were on display, including Arabic and Islamic.
Mohammed Zei moved to Winnipeg from Jordan 17 years ago and now calls himself a Canadian. He had a group of young Jordanian dancers performing at the fair on Saturday.
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“We can show our culture to everybody here,” Mohammed said. “And we can see other people performing too and learn about their cultures as well.”
Zei said dancing is a big part of Jordanian culture.
“Especially the Dabke,” he said. “This is usually in weddings — everybody will hold hands and start dancing.”
Nasra Cyasin danced in the event last year. She’s from Somalia and has lived in Canada for eight years. She said the event is all about unity.
“Coming together, walk together, everything together, friendly,” she said. “It’s very nice.”
The event also featured hoop dancers, square dancers, and a performance from the Canadian Arab Association. Mayor Brian Bowman and Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth also spoke.
Cindy Gilroy, councillor for Daniel McIntyre Ward, said the event also connects newcomers with services they may need throughout the city.
“Making sure that people get access to the library cards or whether it’s signing up for stuff that the community service offers, it’s a really good opportunity to connect with our community,” Gilroy said.
Ahmed said everybody who participated should take with them a message of acceptance.
“We’re all one nation, he said. “We all make this city. We need to open ourselves and open our arms to everyone who comes because everyone who comes to this city does not take away from us, they make us who we are.”