For seven years, the Carousel of Nations has filled the Revelstoke Community Centre for a celebration of our community's diversity.
This year, the event is expanding, moving some events to the neighbouring seniors centre and adding a speakers series in the library to provide space for the growing crowds that come out to enjoy the food, entertainment and more.
"We have our lovely food vendors in the main hall and entertainment as well," said Briana Sadler, who's organizing the event for the Revelstoke Multicultural Society. "Kids Around the World will be in the seniors centre. There's more space, more activities and lots more fun for the kids in that respect."
As well, the library will play host to several speakers who will talk about immigrants throughout Revelstoke's history.
The big reason people come out to the carousel is for the food. In that regard, there will seven vendors serving First Nations, German, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Quebecois cuisine. Food tickets will be $3 each.
For entertainment, the Revelstoke Highlanders will open with pipe band performance. They will be followed by the Indigenous Dance Group, who will perform a hoop dance and a bell dance.
After, Denis Severino and Myra Morrison, who hails from Ohio, will play Appalachian string music. Marty Carter, a flute and saxophone player from Salmo, B.C. will headline the entertainment portion of the festival.
For those looking for something quieter, the library will play host to a speakers series. Cathy English, the curator of the Revelstoke Museum & Archives, will start by recounting Revelstoke's multicultural history. After, Rosemary Tracy will give a presentation called Genealogy 101 that will look at ways of tracing your ancestry, including how to use the website ancestry.com.
At 5 p.m., Jennifer Dunkerson, the executive director of the Revelstoke Railway Museum, will give a talk on the role immigrants played in constructing the railway. Next, English will speak about the Chinese community and Anita Hallewas will talk about the upcoming community theatre project from Flying Arrow Productions. Lastly, Tracy will give a talk about the Italian community's contributions to Revelstoke.
"One of the reasons why we're looking at (history) is one of the aims we try to do with this carousel event is we're looking at the connectivity between the history and the future of Revelstoke in terms of multiculturalism," said Sadler.
The Carousel of Nations takes place at the Revelstoke Community Centre on Saturday, Feb. 4, from 4-7 p.m.