Students and community members in Wabasca gathered to share international food and learn about different cultures during Mistassiniy School’s annual Multicultural Day.
While large urban centres often make headlines for their diversity, rural communities across northern Alberta are increasingly reflecting a global mix. According to recent provincial demographic trends, more newcomers are settling in rural towns, bringing rich cultural traditions with them.
The Wabasca event started in the afternoon for students and opened to the public in the evening. Throughout the school, classrooms were turned into displays representing various countries, offering visitors small tastes of global dishes and a chance to learn about the world.
Collegiate coordinator Kate Evangelista notes the event has been a key part of the school year since the new building opened.
“It brings the community together, not just the students, but also parents, elders, and they get to experience the different diverse cultures that we have,” Evangelista says.
She adds that the event brings positive energy to the school and offers students a hands-on way to learn about the world outside of regular classes. Organizers are already looking forward to future events.
“If we can do it bigger and better, you know, like with more countries, why not?” she says.
Grade 11 student Nazarene Casas helped organize the Philippines classroom alongside two other students. The Philippines remains one of the top source countries for newcomers to Alberta, and students like Casas are eager to share their heritage. She says preparing the room took a lot of work, but the group was proud of the final result.
“I hope they get to enjoy it, learning stuff about our country,” Casas says.
Casas notes that while she wished students had been given a bit more notice to prepare their rooms, the event was a success. Having experienced school in both the Philippines and Wabasca, she adds that the local school schedule, which includes dedicated time during the day to work on assignments, makes balancing schoolwork and projects like this much easier.
Staff member Nadia Moallem helped run the Lebanon classroom. She used the space to share facts about the Arabic language and culture, such as explaining to visitors that the word “Allah” simply translates to God in Arabic.
Moallem says events like Multicultural Day are important to help people understand cultures they might only hear about on the news.
“Because we live in a globalized world, and right now tensions are very high all around the world, it’s important to show people the other side of what they’re not aware of,” Moallem says. She adds that her favourite part of the day is learning where people are from, connecting over those backgrounds, and finding common ground.
“Being able to learn more about where people are from, connecting with that, and finding things that you have in common is the best part,” she says.
Armaan Khanna
Local Journalism Initiative
Reporter