Montreal’s inaugural Multicultural Festival looks to bring people, cultures together

At a time when Bill 96 and Bill 21 are dividing Quebecers, a new festival in Montreal is looking to do the exact opposite.

The first ever Montreal Multicultural Festival will take place Saturday at the Quartier des Spectacles.

“It doesn’t have to be an English versus French thing, it’s really just coming together as one, that’s what it’s really about,” said Jason Forbes, one of the festival organizers.

Forbes says the timing of the festival could not be better, as people begin reuniting with family and friends after more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve been confined so much,” he said. “The fact that we have this festival… it’s going to be a family day. You can come outside and enjoy great music, good food, have the kids running around.”

Forbes says there’s fun for the entire family: bouncy castles for the kids, as well as entertainment for adults, adolescents and children.

“That’s one of the reasons why the city needs this. It’s a time to unite,” he said.

Poster for Montreal’s inaugural Multicultural Festival. (Credit: Multicultural and Diversity Project/handout)

As for the performances, the Multicultural Festival is doing just that: showcasing various music and cultures.

“We’re including a Brazilian performance, we also have Latin performance, performances from Africa. Even the First Nations will be involved as well,” said Forbes. “Including us, as the West Indian community, we’re the ones spearheading this but we want to really show inclusion and diversity in this festival.”

Rayne Hackett and her company Rayne Carnival is the children’s costume designer at the Multicultural Festival.

“There’s so much beauty and inclusion, culture that we have here that sometimes we get clouded by just having certain negative depictions in the news,” said Hackett. “I think this will be a very good positive representation of our city.”

With criticism mounting for recent government laws – Bill 96 and Bill 21 – Forbes says the inaugural edition of the festival is about bringing people together.

“We have the Anglo Caribbean culture such as Trinidad, Jamacia, Barbados that will be instilled in this festival, but you also have the French Caribbean such as Guadeloupe and Martinique that will also be having performances. You could end up seeing two different Caribbean cultures in one to show that you can still have a great performance and a great way to being united.”

The Multicultural Festival takes place Saturday at Quartier des Spectacles from 12 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.