'It's very fun': DiverseCity Festival hosts 4th event in Summerside
Quincy Cumayas has been in Canada for a year, but she found herself centre stage at Sunday's DiverseCity festival event in Summerside, P.E.I., singing for the attendees.
It was the 10-year-old's first time attending one of these events, but she has sung at other events in the past where she sang things like O Canada and the Filipino national anthem.
The event brought a wide range of different cultures together at the Lefurgey Cultural Centre.
"It's very fun actually. I can, like, meet other people, like, other cultures," said Cumayas, who started singing when she was just three years old.
She said she liked the event and would come back to another.
The event, put on by the Immigration and Refugee Services Association, is set up to help connect Islanders with newcomers, allowing both to learn more about their respective cultures.
Longtime attendee Said Akbar Sadat has been coming to DiverseCity events since 2018. He's originally from Afghanistan, but came to the Island in 2007. He was at the festival serving up traditional Afghani food.
"They love it, they said it's a unique food, Afghani food," said Sadat.
He started preparing food at 4 a.m. and then drove to the event five hours later.
Sadat said he enjoyed trying different foods, such as Filipino, Indian and Mexican options.
Event co-ordinator Hai Nguyen, who is originally from Vietnam, said he enjoys seeing people from other backgrounds come together.
"I feel so happy when I see them, you know, with different kind of languages," he said.
Even if Nguyen can't understand the languages in the musical performances, he still enjoys it.
"We have dancing, we have singing, and we have instruments ... but actually I really enjoy the melody," said Nguyen.
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