No Russian pavilion at Edmonton Heritage Festival due to ‘safety concerns’

Russian culture will not be featured at this year’s Edmonton Heritage Festival due to safety concerns, festival organizers announced Friday.

The Edmonton Heritage Festival Association (EHFA) said they’ve received several threats and were advised by police that the festival would need extra security if the Russian pavilion was included.

“Last year, despite the Russian pavilion organizers deciding not to participate in the festival, there were incidents related to the war that festival security had to address,” EHFA said. “While these incidents did not pose a safety threat, they did highlight the potential for safety risks if the Russian pavilion had participated last year.”

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The annual festival features more than 100 cultural groups that share hundreds of cultural dishes and crafts and perform shows on 40 stages. Hundreds of thousands of people from across the province attend the festival each August long weekend.

In May, organizers said they were considering whether the Russian pavilion would be allowed at the festival this year following calls from some in the Ukrainian community to exclude the country in the festivities.

“Allowing the Russian community to partake in the festival without acknowledging the atrocities committed by their government is a disservice to the victims of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and sends a disturbing message that the festival supports or condones such actions,” the Ukrainian Canadian Congress said in a media release.

EHFA said it held meetings with the Ukrainian and Russian communities but couldn’t come up with a solution together.

“As much as we do our best to stay out of the politics that are reflected in the countries that represent the cultures that make up our festival, conflicts do exist and can escalate to the point where they cannot be ignored,” the association said.

Yaroslav Broda, president of the Edmonton branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) said he’s glad the festival organizers made this decision.

“We don’t see it as a political issue — it’s a moral issue,” said Broda.

Broda said even though the war is happening in another country, it affects Canadians.

The Russian Heritage Cultural Development Association (RHCDA) expressed disappointment in being pulled from the Heritage Festival after an initial approval in March. The association said it tried to address concerns that were brought forward in a “mutually respectful manner” but was met with resistance.

“It is very sad to hear that the main reason for the exclusion of our pavilion is safety concern while our actions never caused any safety threats to any community members in Edmonton,” a statement from the RHCDA reads.

“Ironically, this is happening at an event that is meant to celebrate diversity and inclusiveness in our society.”

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EHFA added it had received a number of requests from Ukrainian organizations and individuals to exclude the Russian pavilion.

EHFA said other cultural festivals across the country have faced similar conflicts due to “real anger” at the Russian government over the war.

“While these sentiments are not targeted at Russian Canadians, they could trigger an incident if the Russian culture were to be celebrated during this time of war,” organizers said.

The decision to exclude the Russian pavilion will be revisited ahead of next year’s festival, the board of directors said.

–with files from Adam Toy, Global News