Heritage festival set to celebrate Asian culture in Lethbridge

By Nicholas Allen - for the Lethbridge Herald on May 27, 2022.

Submitted photo Chinese lion dancers entertain the crowd during a past year's Asian Heritage Festival at the Multicultural Centre.

The Southern Alberta Ethnic Association (SAEA) is hosting the Asian Heritage Festival in Lethbridge on Saturday.
For the past two years SAEA has not been able to host this event in-person and has celebrated online according to Executive Director at SAEA Jackie French.
“I’ve been here just over two years and we haven’t been able to hold it in person due to COVID. This will be my first year with the Asian Heritage Festival [in person],” said French.
According to French, admission is free and there will be numerous activities taking place throughout the festival.
SAEA Sales Coordinator Anastasia Sereda said celebrating the diversity of Asian culture is an important part of the event.
“Asia is not just a few countries… so it’s good to actually understand that Asia is massive with many different cultures and people,” said Sereda.
Sereda said there will be a traditional Chinese dance by the Edmonton Hung Mon Athletic Club called the lion dance to kick off the festival. The lion dance is performed by two dancers, one operates the head while the other forms the rear of the lion. It differs from the dragon dance which requires many people holding the body of a dragon on poles.
The festival will also feature performances by the Canadian Bhutanese Society and the India Canada Cultural Association according to Sereda.
“We also have invited Indigenous dancers to come and collaborate and share their space with us,” said Sereda.
Practicing for performances has been an issue for some of the groups, with many people just getting used to returning to in-person events according to French. Sereda added that people were slow to start up again after COVID.
“People didn’t necessarily start up right away because they didn’t know if maybe there were going to be another wave and more restrictions that come in,” said Sereda, “It’s hard to get started again when you’re worried about having to stop and start constantly.”
Along with performances, there will be food for purchase by the Hawaiian Burger Truck, Dumpling House, Canadian Bhutanese Society, Filipino Association and India Canada Cultural Association according to the release from SAEA.
“Since I was a kid being part of the ethnic association, the food was always like one of my favourite parts,” said Sereda.
The Asian Heritage Festival will also include cultural displays and exhibits to “learn about their cultural understandings of life” according to Sereda.
French said the goal of the festival is to be inclusive and diverse to try and teach the community about different cultures in an interactive way.
“It’s an important part of what we do. We have a lot of Asian members so of course we want to do something in celebration of Asian Heritage Month,” said French.
The SAEA is also hosting a fundraiser with Cupper’s Coffee & Tea selling bags of coffee for $20. The proceeds will go towards future events by the organization explained French.
“We’ve created our own two blends in partnership with Cupper’s Coffee [& Tea] . They’ve helped us create the blends and then we have our own logo on the bags and our own names and those will be available for purchase at the event,” said French.
French said the festival is going to be a fun, interactive and educational way for people to learn about Asian culture and encouraged the community to attend.
The Asian Heritage Festival takes place on Saturday May 28 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Multicultural Centre at 421 6 Avenue South. If you would like to donate to this event or to any of the cultural events hosted by SAEA, call (403) 320-1577 or email info@saea.ca.