St. Paul’s Heritage Festival is once again offering tantalizing tastes for the tongue and a feast for the eyes and ears as well, with different cultural foods, music, dances, entertainment and displays this Thursday at the Senior Citizens Centre.
The event got its start last year, thanks to a federal grant from the New Horizons for Seniors program, said Maggie Cartier, who is with the Town of St. Paul FCSS department and who is a member of the organizing committee.
“They knew it was going to be a showcase for various cultures through stories, dance, music and food,” said Cartier, when talking about the organizing committee’s vision for the event. That initial Heritage Festival was quite successful, with 250 attending, she said, and vendors are preparing for an even bigger crowd this year.
This year, 14 vendors will offer a mouth-watering taste of something for everyone, such as bannock, French sugar tarts, Mexican enchiladas, East Indian samosas and sweets, Ukrainian cabbage roles, German cake, the Norwegian dessert smod bre, Dutch cheeses, gelato and more. Tickets to sample each item are 50 cents apiece, and if you’re still hungry for more, hamburgers and hot dogs are on sale for $2. Proceeds from the hotdog and hamburger sales will go towards St. Paul and community’s family benefit group.
The grant and the event is meant to foster “intergenerational relationships between seniors and youth,” explained Sheila Parks, with the Parent Link, who is also part of the organizing committee. “And it creates opportunities for seniors to share their personal experiences and life skills and to showcase their unique cultural identity and traditions.”
Seniors will be directly involved with the festival; a group from Sunnyside is helping prepare food items to sell and there will be people from the seniors’ lodge singing at the event too. Local singer Carrie Poulin will be getting the entertainment started at 10 a.m., said Parks, adding, “She has such a beautiful voice, the voice of an angel.” The lineup of talent will be diverse, including Pretty Red Bird productions from Saddle Lake, Hawaiian singing, African dancers, fiddler Calvin Vollrath and fiddle students, Ukrainian dancers, Kikino Northern Lights Dancers, harmonica and accordion players and more.
Cartier noted that since the grant also has to do with seniors, displays will highlight the early heritage of St. Paul and how today’s seniors used to live. For instance, life wasn’t just a matter of running out to buy butter or wool, she said, adding that demonstrations will show exactly how people used to get things done.
“There will be a lady actually making butter,” she said, adding other activities include spinning wheel demonstrations, wood-top spinning, wool-making and more. Part of the intent is to show how people once lived and how seniors have “helped mold our community” to be what it is today, she said. Quilts, antiques, ethnic outfits and other items will round out the displays.
Entertainment runs from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., with a break for lunch. From 11:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., kids will also be able to go on a bounce house, but they must be wearing socks to enter. More entertainment will be offered in the afternoon up until 3 p.m.
“We have a mixture of events that will appeal to people of any age. We encourage families to bring their children,” said Parks, adding she thought this event would be a major one for children, families and seniors in St. Paul. “I think it’s going to be a huge success.”
