On Sunday we attended the Sharing Our Cultures event at The Rooms which was a forum for international high school students in St. John's to share their cultures with each other and the public!
Sharing Our Cultures at The Rooms
Sharing Our Cultures celebrated its 15th anniversary this year and was originally established as a result of a study on the Psychosocial Needs of Immigrant and Refugee School Children in 1999. The study recommended that there be a medium for immigrant students and locals to understand and learn more about each other’s cultures. The event has expanded over the years and now involves a visit to a different community in rural Newfoundland every year. Funny enough, Elizabeth attended one of the first Sharing Our Cultures events when she was in elementary school, but completely forgot about it until this past weekend!
The theme this year was "Sharing Our Celebrations". There were booths about various countries set up on multiple levels of The Rooms, and the event was supplemented by presentations in the theatre as well as artistic performances on the third level.
The theme this year was "Sharing Our Celebrations". There were booths about various countries set up on multiple levels of The Rooms, and the event was supplemented by presentations in the theatre as well as artistic performances on the third level.
We had looked at the schedule beforehand and tried to time which presentations and performances we were interested in seeing to get the most out of the experience. But, as often happens, things didn't go exactly as planned. The Opening Ceremonies in the theatre went late, so that delayed the presentations and performances which made it hard for us to plan our time there.
When we arrived, we waited in the theatre for a presentation to start, but nothing seemed to be happening. Then the first artistic performers started on the third floor - the aboriginal group Eastern Owl (who we'd seen at Spirit Song) - so we left and went into the lobby just outside the theatre to listen from afar while we were waiting for a presentation to start in the theatre.
After their performance, we made our way back to the theatre to see if anything was going to be happening and we walked in on the last 1.5 minutes of a presentation about Nigerian celebrations. That was our first timing fail of the day - we're still not sure how we could have missed it. But then we stuck around for a presentation about the Carnaval de Barranquilla in Columbia, the second biggest carnival in the world! It seemed wild and like it would be a lot of fun to see.
Then we heard a faint drum beat in the background and made our way upstairs to watch some Chinese Lion Dancing! The movements were fluid but seemed random, however it was obviously very well choreographed as there were two people operating the lion.
When we arrived, we waited in the theatre for a presentation to start, but nothing seemed to be happening. Then the first artistic performers started on the third floor - the aboriginal group Eastern Owl (who we'd seen at Spirit Song) - so we left and went into the lobby just outside the theatre to listen from afar while we were waiting for a presentation to start in the theatre.
After their performance, we made our way back to the theatre to see if anything was going to be happening and we walked in on the last 1.5 minutes of a presentation about Nigerian celebrations. That was our first timing fail of the day - we're still not sure how we could have missed it. But then we stuck around for a presentation about the Carnaval de Barranquilla in Columbia, the second biggest carnival in the world! It seemed wild and like it would be a lot of fun to see.
Then we heard a faint drum beat in the background and made our way upstairs to watch some Chinese Lion Dancing! The movements were fluid but seemed random, however it was obviously very well choreographed as there were two people operating the lion.
Afterwards, we checked out a few of the booths and spoke to some students. We learned about a few different celebrations such as the Ukrainian Malanka (similar to Mummering in Newfoundland), and Pakistani weddings.
Then we returned to the theatre to check out some more presentations. Unfortunately, like earlier in the afternoon, we missed the boat and ended up walking in late to a presentation about Pakistani celebrations so we only caught the last few minutes. But we did learn how to properly wrap a headscarf!
Afterwards, due to a cancellation, we ended up seeing the presentation about Columbia again, followed by a presentation about the history of the Sharing Our Cultures event itself. It was interesting to see how and why the event was started, as well as how it has grown throughout the years.
We really enjoyed our Something Saturday this past week although it was a bit confusing trying to manage the timings, especially since they were delayed by varying amounts. We would have definitely liked to see more of the artistic performances, so we'll just have to go back again next year!
Afterwards, due to a cancellation, we ended up seeing the presentation about Columbia again, followed by a presentation about the history of the Sharing Our Cultures event itself. It was interesting to see how and why the event was started, as well as how it has grown throughout the years.
We really enjoyed our Something Saturday this past week although it was a bit confusing trying to manage the timings, especially since they were delayed by varying amounts. We would have definitely liked to see more of the artistic performances, so we'll just have to go back again next year!
