Colourful heritage celebrated as people gather for the annual Multicultural Festival

Mareeba Shire is home to people from 64 nationalities and backgrounds and that colourful heritage will be celebrated at the annual Multicultural Festival. What to expect

MAREEBA Shire is home to people from 64 nationalities and backgrounds and that colourful heritage will be celebrated at the annual Multicultural Festival on August 27.

Action at the free event at Arnold Park kicks off at 10am with a parade, followed by non-stop entertainment including Aboriginal, Torres Strait, PNG, Filipino, Italian, Spanish, Albanian, Greek, Polynesian and Australian performers.

Tongan dancers Elenoa Patolo and Lotomova Tea, of Mareeba, just before they went on to perform on stage at the Mareeba Multicultural Festival. Picture: David Anthony

Mareeba State School’s Auslan choir will perform, there will be a local Bavarian dance couple, and dance groups including Chinese, Thai, Edelweiss, the Pacific Islander dancers and the Zagareb Island dancers.

There will be an appearance from African Rapper Super Boy and the Rwanda African Youth group.

Tango Craze will perform as well as a Zumba crew. St Stephen’s Catholic College also has something in store.

There will be food and craft stalls showcasing many cultures.

Multicultural Festival chairperson Cr Mary Graham said the event showcased the diversity of the region and brought people together from different backgrounds.

Adrian Gover, of Cairns, dancing with the Edelweiss Dance Group, performers of German-style dances at the Multicultural festival. Picture: David Anthony

“The festival showcases the diversity of our shire and Mareeba Shire is home to 64 different cultural backgrounds, so it really portrays the culture we have in our shire,” she said.

“People come to the festival and mix with other people from different cultures from around the area and it’s great seeing everyone in the community come together and enjoying the day.”

Sharing a delightful moment together at the Mareeba Multicultural Festival, mother and daughter Tiffany and 12-year-old Zoe Turnour, of Cairns. Picture: David Anthony.

Up to 5000 people are expected to attend across the weekend.

“We have a number of different performers from different cultures, singers, dancers and of course, don’t forget the food, the food is just fantastic,” she said.

“I know some people just come to the festival to buy the food and take it home.”

Originally published as Colourful heritage celebrated as people gather for the annual Multicultural Festival