Folklorama
| Folklorama | |
|---|---|
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| Frequency | Annually |
| Location(s) | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Years active | 47 |
| Inaugurated | 1970 |
| Most recent | July 31 to August 13, 2016 |
| Next event | August 6 - 19, 2017 |
| Participants | Approx 3,000 entertainers and 20,000 volunteers |
| Attendance | approx. 447,000 (2016) |
| Website | |
| www |
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Folklorama is an event that runs for two weeks each August in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Visitors to the festival are invited to sample cuisine and celebrate the cultural and ethnic heritage of people from dozens of countries who have made Winnipeg their home. Folklorama is the world's largest and longest-running multicultural festival.
Each country, region or culture has an assigned venue, known as a pavilion. Typically there are over 40 pavilions presented throughout the city, with half operating in week one and half in week two of the festival. Each pavilion presents a show featuring the song and dance of their culture, along with trademark ethnic cuisine and a cultural display. Some pavilions also incorporate additional services such as henna tattoo application, and some have late night parties. Most pavilions provide imported alcohol from their feature country/culture.
Folklorama provides exposure to cultural groups and brings in thousands of tourists each year, adding to the city's economy. It is the largest and longest-running festival of its kind in the world (determined by the International Council of Organizations for Folklore Festivals and Folk Art, also known as CIOFF). The Folk Arts Council of Winnipeg is the organizing body of Folklorama.
Folklorama was first held in August 1970. It was originally intended to be a one-time occurrence in celebration of Manitoba's centennial. It was deemed such a success that it became an annual event. The first festival was only a week long, featuring 21 different cultures; it drew approximately 75,000 separate pavilion visits. The festival adopted its current two-week format in 1988, with half of the pavilions open in each week. As of 2016, only four of the original pavilions have been open every year. They are: German, Ukraine-Kyiv, Greek, and Scandinavian.
The Folklorama logo was designed by Andy Stout who won the provincial logo contest in 1980. The 4 figures in the logo represent people from the four corners of the globe, who are intertwined, with arms raised in celebration. The festival's mascot, the Folklorama Llama, was created in 1986.
Until 1990, pavilions would have a mayor and a queen. The queen would be in the running for the Miss Folklorama pageant at the end of the Festival. The Miss Folklorama pageant was not a beauty pageant but a contest of ethnic preservation and presentation. Since 1990, pavilions now feature two adult ambassadors and two youth ambassadors, neither of whom must be of a specific gender.
Throughout the year, Folklorama is sustained by three business divisions that were created as a result of the success of the Festival: Travel, Talent, and Teachings.
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Wikipedia