By April Ratzlaff (Contributor) – Email
AbbyFest, the city’s annual celebration of multiculturalism and diversity, took place on September 26 at UFV’s Abbotsford campus. Before the festival, The Cascade spoke to Chelsey Laird, co-ordinator for global engagement programming at UFV, about UFV’s partnership with the festival. Laird is also on the board of AbbyFest.
Tell us a bit about the history of AbbyFest, and UFV’s involvement with the festival.
This is the eighth year that AbbyFest has been running. It was started by a gentleman named Musleh Hakki, because other cities like Surrey and Vancouver have big multicultural festivals and Abbotsford didn’t have one. So Musleh brought a team together and started the festival, which has been hosted at the Ag-Rec Centre and the arena in the past, but this year we brought it to UFV.
What inspired UFV to host AbbyFest this year?
From the UFV perspective, a number of things inspired us to make the connection. Our international students have played a big part in AbbyFest at least for the last four or five years. The students perform, do a fashion show, and have a global village, so we saw that it was a natural fit for UFV and AbbyFest to partner. At the festival last year one of the committee members suggested we host the festival at UFV this year, so that’s how we got here.
What else does UFV do to promote acceptance and diversity?
Part of my responsibility as the global engagement coordinator is working with students, staff, and faculty to help develop their intercultural competence. This is done a number of ways. At a basic level it’s through food, events, or film screenings, but as we grow and develop our intercultural awareness and understanding, we’re moving more towards things like workshops and conferences to bring an intellectual or academic understanding as well. We also run an international mentorship program, where both Canadian students and international students participate. We have about 50 people this year.
We also have the Global Lounge, which is open until 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, where students can hang out and learn from each other. We put different music and TV shows on, and we have tea and coffee on all the time, so people can come in and just hang out with each other.
Are there any particular acts that you are really excited about?
Yes! The international students, and students who are Canadian but identify very closely with their ethnic heritage, will be performing from 5:10 p.m. onward. We have students from 15 different countries wearing their traditional clothing, and following that, students from various countries — China, Japan, the Philippines, and India, to name a few — are doing songs and dances. Obviously I’m pumped for that. The other really exciting thing is there’s a Filipino band called 7th Route performing. I think they’re going to be really fun!
Who is the festival aimed at primarily? College students? Families?
It’s been evolving. There are about 75 volunteers who are high school students who will be coming today, at least 50 UFV students have volunteered today, and there will also be elementary school children here in the Parade of Nations. So it’s really aimed at everyone. There’s stuff for kids, high school students, and stuff for the general community.
What’s one thing that people should take away from their experience at AbbyFest?
The sense of the richness of the diversity in our small city, and even on our small campus. And I would like people to walk away thinking, “Wow, the world is here!” It’s an opportunity for them to expand their horizons and try something new.
What does this festival mean for UFV students? Why is it important?
The festival is important for a number of reasons, but the two most prominent ones are, one, being able to be recognized for a piece of their identity that they might not get to express or share regularly, whether it’s food that someone’s prepared or wearing a salwar kameez. The second important thing for UFV international students is to feel welcomed in the Abbotsford community. For example, if they’re feeling homesick they may be able to find a part of themselves and their culture reflected here.
Will UFV continue to host AbbyFest in the future?
I don’t know — I wish I had the power to make those decisions! I do think it’s a great fit, and I think it’s something that the executives should consider, especially because this festival sort of helps to bridge the gap between the university and the community. Sometimes there can be a divide between Abbotsford and the university, but we want to be part of Abbotsford as a whole city.
I would like to say that the AbbyFest community and volunteers have been awesome to work with. It has been amazing to work with members of the community while putting this festival together.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
