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Orangeville joins countywide multicultural group

March 23, 2023   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

The Town of Orangeville is now a member of the Dufferin County Multicultural Foundation.

Council agreed during its public meeting on Mar. 20 to take $300 from the community grants purse to cover its membership in the foundation. Membership gets each group shared promotion of their various events on each other’s websites and social media channels.

The foundation has grown since its humble beginning as a mere multicultural event in Shelburne schools in 2017.

“Just talking about culture and having our youth understand a little bit about the different cultures that were making up Shelburne,” Althea Alli, the organization’s founder and president, said about those early days.

In 2018, the effort to raise awareness and acceptance of different cultures expanded to the entire Shelburne community. The one-day event showcased art and food from community members.

The Multicultural event doubled in size in 2019, and included a showcase of poetry, art, and the culinary contributions of people from different religions and parts of the world.

“We had a lot of our high school youth groups participate as well,” Alli said.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, the multicultural event went virtual. The foundation hosted it in partnership with the Museum of Dufferin.

June 27, 2021, was declared Multicultural Day in Dufferin County.

“We created a culture of learning,” the foundation’s Sushil Shundil said.

They put on youth cooking classes where participants learned the basics of how to create dishes from across cultures.

Preparations have begun for the 2023 multicultural event. It’s been expanded over two days starting Jun. 23, Alli said.

An art show will open on Jun. 23, followed by performances, vendors, and different foods on Jun. 24.

The foundation has issued a call for artists to submit works with the theme of unity and diversity.

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