In pictures: Explore the Sǫǫ̀mba K’è Multicultural Festival

Yellowknifers gathered to celebrate cultural diversity through performances, food and more at the 2024 edition of the Sǫǫ̀mba K’è Multicultural Festival.

The annual event, held this year on Sunday, June 30, showcases talent from around the world to celebrate Canadian Multiculturalism Day, which falls on June 27.

“Our culture is a culture that is very diverse. So in that diversity, we are all brought together by food,” said Martin Matuga, who was serving food from southern Africa with the help of his family.

“What other thing can represent a nation other than the things that bring everybody together? You can never go wrong with food when you are in Zimbabwe.”

Among the dishes that locals tried were boerewors – a kind of farmer’s sausage that takes nearly three hours to prepare and is “90-percent different kinds of meat” mixed with spices – as well as peri peri chicken.

Earlier last month, Matuga opened the Hidden Gem restaurant at the new Yellowknife Historical Museum. He calls the food there an “infusion of different kinds of cultures” and said support from the community has been phenomenal.

“We’ve been planning to open a restaurant for a while, and this time, it was just a blessing to be able to open our doors and get everyone in the city to come and enjoy the food that we enjoy,” he said.

Organizations contributing to the festival include the Multicultural Community of Yellowknife, NWT Literacy Council, Fédération Franco-Ténoise, Intercultural Centre, BACupNorth, CDÉTNO and the Wolf Foundation.

Yannis Labrakis said his family has wanted to serve Greek food to festival attendees for the past couple of years. However, only now could they find volunteers to help them at the counter.

Their table was filled with dishes like gigantes (white beans with tomato sauce and vegetables), spinach pie, Greek salad, baklava, bougatsa and iced coffee.

Besides attending to the long lineup, Labrakis said they were also holding a workshop to teach traditional dance. His daughter, Dahlia, is a performer with Bella Dance Academy’s Bella Beats. The group danced to the song Northern Girl, which she said took many days to rehearse and involved “some cool movements.”

In front of City Hall, residents performed Tinikling, a traditional folk dance from the Philippines. The word means “to be or perform like tikling,” a type of bird, in Tagalog.

“It’s about farmers trying to catch birds into their traps. So the idea is, you’re dancing between poles trying not to get caught, and we’re dancing like birds,” said Jessica Pacunayen.

Pacunayen said there are 16 dancers who perform Tinikling in the city. Back in Calgary, it was popular and the group brought it to Yellowknife in 2019. Although Covid-19 temporarily slowed the momentum, they are trying to revive the dance again. The group’s next performance will be at a close friend’s wedding in October.

“I think it’s nice to just get people out and try things. There’s always new people in town who may or may not have seen this before,” she said.

Lea Barbosa-Leclerc with the Philippine Cultural Association of Yellowknife said art and crafts were on display from the three major islands of the Philippines: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Raw materials like sea shells, tree barks and palm leaves are heavily used in the region’s crafting.

Barbosa-Leclerc said the Yellowknife association has seven members, helping people from the Philippines adapt to the city.

“One of the first things we have to make sure people understand is that the North has actually welcomed us open-heartedly. We’re very happy that we’re here, and we’re thankful they have welcomed us,” she said.

“This is my 40th year in the North, and so I think people are now starting to understand that there’s something about the North they want to come back to.”

At 9pm on Canada Day, the association will take part in a Light Up the Lake celebration by Somba K’e park. Barbosa-Leclerc said the initiative started four years ago.

“We are lighting candles to set intentions that we’re here in solid solidarity, in peace and in respect,” she said.

Christian Hirwa, a member of the Multicultural Community of Yellowknife’s planning committee, was volunteering at the event. Hirwa is originally from Rwanda and said moving to Yellowknife changed his perception about the city.

“I thought, ‘I’m going to be the only Black person over here.’ Then I come here and the culture is so diverse, and people are really trying to work together to break barriers … It’s kind-of fascinating to see it’s not a big city but there’s so many people coming from everywhere around the world. People tend to really be open about that. Here in Yellowknife, you can actually feel welcome,” said Hirwa.

“Especially how many people take their time to make the food and come for a whole day under the sun, to be able to share their culture and their food and their experience with the people – I just find that amazing.”

MCY president Natasha Bhogal said the group was still looking for volunteers in the days leading up to the event. On the day, board member Lisa Boisneault said this year’s festival would not have been possible without the roughly 30 people that volunteered – most of whom signed up at the last minute.

Boisneault moved to the city from New Brunswick last year and works as the coordinator at the NWT Intercultural Centre, organizing activities for francophone community members.

“We’re really happy to have all the people who got interested to join us and to get ready [for it],” she said of the volunteers and participants.

Joseph Sebastian and his friends wanted the city to try dosa – a South Indian staple food, which they served with sambar. The group of four prepared eight dishes including biryani, cutlets, meat rolls and a few vegetarian options.

Sebastian said the event was the first where they had provided food. Though they have a small home-based business, Spoonful Meals, they are planning to expand to a store in the near future after receiving a food permit.

“I am in contact with a few of the shops in here, so we are just trying to figure out a space … Once things are ready and everything goes in good form, we might start up so soon,” he said.

Sarwat and Nazim Awan’s family from Pakistan served a chicken curry, naan and zarda – a boiled sweet rice with nuts. Anila Aisha and her husband Kamran Ata helped out at the booth.

Aisha has been in the city for almost 13 years and her favourite part about it is frequently running into familiar faces.

“Especially after Covid, this is the first time so many people are coming out. This is one of the best things about Yellowknife – that when you go outside, people know you. Whenever you go, people know you,” she said.

Lin Liang, vice consul general of China in Calgary, attended the event with his colleagues and a few friends to showcase Chinese culture. They had wooden bookmarks with Chinese zodiac symbols, each representing one of 12 animals: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

2024 is the year of the dragon, which is associated with the element of wood.

“In Canada, people prefer the multicultural integration. In China also, we prefer the coexistence … That means we have a very harmonious coexistence with different communities from different countries. So it’s a great pleasure to join this event,” he said.

Dr Bei Liu, from Edmonton, said she and her colleagues help the Edmonton Public School Board by teaching young students Chinese. Their outfits were in the traditional colours of green and red, and some had plum flowers and Chinese characters printed on them.

Marie-Luna Langlois Escandon, a student at Yellowknife’s École Sir John Franklin High School, set up a face-painting booth along with her siblings. Escandon will be going to Toronto this month to compete in Miss Teenage Canada, a national beauty pageant.

Escandon donned traditional attire that her grandmother brought for her from Colombia, representing flowers and snow, which are common in the country. One of her siblings was wearing a red, blue and yellow dress – the colours of a Colombian flag – while the other wore a cumbia dress associated with Colombian music.

“I’m going to do a model walk with my siblings to represent our country. I am really happy and proud because sometimes it’s hard when you are from Canada, but all your family is from Colombia,” she said.

“So you feel left apart, but representing here makes me happy. I love multiculturality and learning about other countries and travelling around.”