Welcoming Communities warmly invites the Central Otago community to the inaugural Cultural Talent Festival in Cromwell later this month.
Welcoming Communities officer Heather Harries was looking forward to staging the event, which had been postponed earlier this year.
“It promises to be an eclectic array of song, dance, words, and food: Tongan gospel singing, Scottish bagpipes, Garab dancing from the villages of Gujarat, poetry, and more.”
The festival will be held at the Cromwell Presbyterian Church on Sunday 23 June, 3pm - 5pm.
The event extends the theme of Unity Week, launched in 2022 to honour the lives lost during the 15 March 2019 terrorist attack on Christchurch, and to cultivate a society of inclusion, respect and belonging.
“Welcoming Communities and some passionate Central Otago volunteers set upon observing this initiative by crafting an event that would rejoice in the talents of our ever-growing and changing community,” Ms Harries said, “to celebrate the richness diversity brings to our district and promote a spirit of togetherness. However, as the long summer days were ending, the Talent Festival was competing with a vast array of other festivities, therefore the date was postponed and - as they say in the movies – here goes Take-Two!
“Although Unity Week is behind us, the value of facilitating connections and collectively nurturing the diversity and flair of Central Otago is something we can strive for every day. For those who want to share their heritage but are too shy to take to the stage, please bring a plate of food to share. Entry is free of charge but there will be a gold coin to donation for the St John Ambulance.”
