June Days celebrates Yorkton's diverse community

Yorkton, Sask. -

Yorkton’s multicultural June Days has returned for its third consecutive year. The event kicked off on Thursday, opening with Indigenous and Jamaican cultures.

"I think June Days is an excellent opportunity for Yorkton itself to be inclusive and to teach others about the multicultural diversity within Yorkton,” said Clorice Delorme, representative of the Indigenous culture cotillion and member of Cowessess First Nation.

Organized by Yorkton Business Improvement District (YBID), June Days focuses on celebrating the different cultures present in Yorkton, while educating the public about cultural practices through entertainment, food and fun activities. During the month, each Thursday is themed with new cultures.¬

“We felt we have such a pot of culture here in Yorkton and we don’t know sometimes how to communicate with each other,” explained YBID’s executive director Donna Brothwell.

"Let's learn about all the different cultures that we have. There's like 28 of us at least in this community, let's bring people out, use the stage, use the park and bring people out so we can have a really good time and learn about culture."

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As part of the Indigenous component for the evening, Delorme expressed how happy she was to inform others about cultural traditions.

“I was very honoured and excited to showcase just one area of our culture, the powwow dance and the dance demonstrations,” Delorme told CTV News.

“For inclusion and Canada Day we are a multicultural community, showcasing different First Nation cultures is a huge step towards reconciliation and working together as a community.”

Yorkton’s multicultural June Days kicked off on Thursday showcasing Indigenous and Jamaican cultures. The event will happen on a weekly basis throughout the month. (Sierra D'Souza Butts / CTV News) Aldain Britton, a member from the Jamaican culture cotillion, expressed his appreciation for the event as well.

"It really means a lot, not just to share your culture, but to learn what other people have to offer,” Britton said.

“Teaching people about our flags, we’ve got our house colors, the hummingbird which represents our national bird, different colours like black which is for the people and green which is for the forestry. That helps to not just tell people about tourism which is big in Jamaica, but also about our culture.”

Aside from educating people about various ethnic groups, each Thursday evening will have kid activities, trade booths and food trucks open to the public.

Yorkton’s multicultural June Days kicked off on Thursday showcasing Indigenous and Jamaican cultures. The event will happen on a weekly basis throughout the month. (Sierra D'Souza Butts / CTV News) “This year we’ve expanded into the parking lot by the strip mall there, we’ve turned that into a food ally for people to go to the food trucks to get some food and come back to watch all of the entertainment,” explained Todd Kulcsar, chair of YBID.

“We have a great little park here that's great for an event like this, just to showcase all these people with all their different cultures and tell people, hey we're in the community of Yorkton, come and see us.”

Kulcsar said he attends each event as he enjoys the variety of cultures.

“The different music and entertainment the cultures provide, that’s the part I like,” he said smiling.

“Especially seeing that this park is full with people when we do this, up to 500 people, if not, more. I’m expecting over 500 people this year once we get rolling.”

Aside from months of preparation for the weekly event, various sponsors and volunteers are needed to help with the $20,000 operation.

"We run about $5,000 a day so we really do have to thank the funding sponsors that we do get money from,” added Brothwell.

On June 13, cultures such as the Philippines and Vietnam will be showcased, the following week will be India and Nigeria, and on June 27 the event will conclude with Ukraine and Canada.