Tuesday, Feb 7, 2017
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THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY
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Russian fare, courtesy of Elena Drozdova (left) and Victoria Korchagina, was among the wide variety of tantalising cuisine on offer at the Multi Cultural Bite. PHOTO ROBYN HOOD 060217-RH-0092
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World’s food fare comes to town BY SUSAN SANDYS
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Mid Cantabrians sampled food from a range of cultures, chatted in the sun, and even danced in the street at the Multi Cultural Bite yesterday. A record crowd of about 16,000 attended the town centre festival and the adjoining Waitangi on East market. Visitors queued at the various festival stalls manned by residents wanting to share dishes from their home countries, which included Egypt, Kenya, Fiji (Fiji Indian), Samoa, Taiwan, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, New Caledonia, Russia and Italy. “It’s made us decide we don’t need to go overseas to try the food, we can try it here,” said one visitor, Lorraine Kerr of Ashburton. Event co-ordinator Louise Duke said many stalls ran out of food as the record crowds flowed into the event for lunch.
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The festival was testimony to just how multicultural the Mid Canterbury community had become. “You don’t actually realise how diverse it is until you get the stalls all together on the street and you see the different foods and the different dress, it’s really quite special,” Duke said. The Kenyan stall won the “best bite” overall award, while the Samoan stall won best stall. Cuban dancers Israel Ortiz and Greydis Montero were hosted by the Ashburton Social Latin Dance Group, and led a Cuban rueda dance, which saw many members of the public joining in on East Street underneath the clock tower. A stage was set up for the festival, and other entertainment included Samoan dancers, Japanese drummers and an Indian dancer. Mayor Donna Favel said the Ashburton of today was much different to that
of 30 years ago when the food stalls would have sold chips and pies. Mid Canterbury had a growing immigrant population with 15 per cent of the district’s population born overseas, and last year it welcomed 150 permanent and long-term migrants. “I’m so proud of new Ashburton and longstanding Ashburton, that it all comes together so beautifully,” Favel said. Waitangi on East event organiser Carol Johns said the two events complemented each other perfectly. There were about 60 stallholders at Waitangi on East, and record crowds, with steady numbers exceeding last year.
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