Fasten your seat belts and get ready to travel the world in the space of a few days with York University’s Multicultural Week. Where else can you meet students from many different cultures, watch them parade in their national costumes, visit a myriad of informative display booths, taste traditional dishes, and witness dance and musical performances?
Right and below: Scenes from last year’s Multicultural Week celebration
York University’s rich cultural mix of students comes together this year for the third annual Multicultural Week celebration which features the cuisines, art, entertainment and social and religious values of York’s global community.
York is U, the school spirit organization, has been working non-stop planning this year’s event. They promise to transform York Lanes into a mini-global village with maximum impact. Banners featuring the flags of the world have provided an early preview of next week.
“Multicultural Week is the largest week- long event at York with good reason,” says Jeremy Greenberg, coordinator of student alumni programs and one of the organizers behind the event. “It is the only event that everyone can connect to because we all have a culture and Multicultural Week celebrates our diversity.”
Forty-five different organizations and clubs have signed on to participate in this year’s events. “Multicultural Week continues to grow as it showcases and celebrates what makes the magnificent differences that make our students great,” said Greenberg. “For the first time ever, the food fair will be all week long, so the community can enjoy food from the around world prepared for them by York students.”
The celebrations begin with the parade of nations which begins at 10am on Monday, Feb. 7. Students will dawn their finery and march proudly through York Lanes. “The parade will be a blast and we have the band ‘York Samba’ leading the show,” said Greenberg. The parade will circle York Lanes once and then exit through the main doors adjacent to Blueberry Hill restaurant. The parade will move through the Student Centre and then back into York Lanes.
York Lanes is home to a Multicultural Village, which includes a large main stage where you can watch displays of cultural fashions, martial arts, dancing, and listen to choirs, music and more. And you can drop by the decorated tables that students have set up to celebrate, educate and communicate their diversity.
For more information and a full schedule of events and performers, visit the York is U Web site.