Media Release
Friday, 12 March 2010
Recognising Swan Hill's rich and diverse community will be the focus when Harmony Day celebrations take place on Sunday, 21 March at Riverside Park.
Swan Hill Rural City Council Mayor Cr Greg Cruickshank said the event was an opportunity for community members to come together and to acknowledge and celebrate Swan Hill's diverse population.
“The key message of Harmony Day is ‘everyone belongs' - through community participation, inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone,” Cr Cruickshank said.
“The theme for Harmony Day 2010 is ‘Express Yourself'- a chance to demonstrate linguistic, ethnic and religious diversity and Swan Hill will be recognising this year's event by having its largest Harmony Day celebrations yet.”
Kicking off at Riverside Park from 11am (until 5pm), Harmony Day activities will include performances from several Swan Hill-based Indian communities, an Indigenous Australian duo and Melbourne-based group Exodus Musica, whose members originate from a number of tribes of the Equatoria region of southern Sudan, Fijian, Tongan and I-Kiribati.
There will also be a “fashion parade” featuring national costumes, soccer games for sports-minded people and cultural displays from some of the communities.
Food prepared by the Sudanese, Afghani, Moroccan, Mauritian, Indian, Pacific Islander, Filipina and Vietnamese communities will be available for sale to the public, providing community members with an opportunity to not only enjoy foods from the world, but interact with members from a range of cultural groups within Swan Hill.
“Harmony Day at Riverside Park will be a free day for all the family and it is a great opportunity to celebrate who we are and our diverse region,” Cr Cruickshank said.
“I encourage everyone to come along and join in what is certain to be an entertaining day for the whole family.”
Harmony Day is part of the Diverse Australia Program, which helps local communities to address cultural, racial and religious intolerance and works with different levels of government and community organisations through projects that break down barriers between people.
Harmony Day is now in its 11th year and is supported by iconic Australian organisations such as the Australian Football League, Girl Guides Australia, Scouts Australia and Woolworths. Valuable corporate support is being provided by Unisys, Universal McCann, Adcorp, Leba Ethnic Media and Spots and Space.
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