I Heart Edmonton

Heritage Festival (The Melting Pot) By Emil Tiedemann Standing in the line-up outside of On the Rocks in downtown Edmonton one winter night, my buddy and I started up a conversation with the guy in front of us. He seemed to be shivering slightly more than the rest of us in line, and as it turns out, it was because he was new to Edmonton from the tiny African island nation of Mauritius, which does not get to see winters quite like ours.  I had never met anyone from Mauritius before, or at least that I knew of. Later that night, my buddy and I cabbed it home, as the driver told us about his old life in his home country of India, far different from the life he leads now, he said. When we got back to my buddy’s place, he told me about this girl Kristy, from Slovenia, who was coming to stay with him as a “couch surfer.”  All night, we were exposed to the glaring diversity that our hometown has embraced with open arms. At our workplaces, inside our classrooms, and on th...

This melting pot we call home will be on full display at the 40th annual Heritage Festival this August long weekend by emil tiedema nn E DMONTON is without a doubt a diverse city, a virtual smorgasbord of citizens and visitors from around the world, stretching over six continents and more than a hundred countries. Just look around your workplace, visit a shopping centre, or scour your friends list on Facebook, and you'll notice faces that represent all corners of the globe. One of the 85+ cultures that will be represented at the Heritage Fest! That's something that we should not only be proud of, but something that we need to continue to recognize and to celebrate. Diversity is what Canada is all about after all; it's what we were built on and how we flourished as a nation. It's also one of the many encouraging reasons why we stand out from most of the rest of the world. The Servus Heritage Festival ( August 1-3 ) in William Hawrelak Park is how Edmonto...