Coming together in Edmonton
“This festival is able to touch the lives of millions of people across Canada,” says Deborah Forst, the writer and producer of Coming Together: Inside the Edmonton Heritage Festival. “It has played a major role in helping shape and define a vision of Canada that openly embraces different cultures and different languages.”
For 34 years, cultures from all over the world have gathered in Edmonton’s scenic river valley to showcase the vibrant multicultural heritage of Canada. From a simple concert in 1975 and 11 small pavilions in 1976, the festival has grown to include over 60 pavilions representing more than 80 cultures. As the world’s largest multicultural festival held in one location, over 350,000 people gain free admission to the event; to sample culinary delicacies, enjoy creative performance, shop for local crafts and artwork, or simply to chat with people that are eager to tell their stories of their cultural roots and their communities in Canad
