Montreal Chinatown Drumming Festival marks 5th anniversary with celebration of culture and unity

Montreal’s Chinatown came alive with the sound of drums, lion dances, and multicultural performances this weekend as community groups gathered to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Montreal Chinatown Multicultural Drumming Festival.

Held on Saturday, at Sun-Yat-Sen Place, the festival marked Asian Heritage Month with a showcase of cultural traditions from Asian, African, Caribbean, and other ethnocultural communities across the city. Organizers say the annual event is designed to promote unity, cultural exchange, and community pride while highlighting the diversity that shapes Montreal.

“It’s the most wonderful thing for Ville Marie’s citizens to come out and make it like a big happy family day,” said Jimmy Chan, president & organizer of Montreal Chinatown Multicultural Festival.

The festival is organized by the Montreal Chinatown Multicultural Festival, the Montreal Chan Lion Dance Club, and One World, One Humanity, in collaboration with the Alliance of Montreal Asians for Prosperity and Inclusion (AMAPI).

“You become more powerful together in this society, in our community, as Chinatown is shining under this big sun, with happiness, with everyone together,” said Louese Hui, Miss Chinese Montreal 2025.

This year’s program featured multicultural drumming and dance performances, including appearances by the Chinatown Drumming Team and community groups representing Caribbean, African, and Mauritian cultures.

“Drumming is the very first language of humankind going back many thousand years ago,” said Chan. “As everybody knows, drumming represents heartbeat, drumming represents unity and also drumming is communication. Using the language of drumming from different cultures, different communities come together. Everybody drum with their own culture, bring out a very unique sound of beat that is so dynamic, so powerful.”

“We all want to do what he does, to bring more people together to share our culture, but also be multicultural, to share friendship, because it’s a multicultural festival, to share one unity as everyone together,” said Hui. “And also the drum beats, there’s no border in the drum beats and all music.”

The opening act featured the acrobatic talents of the Montreal Chan Lion Dance Club, whose energetic performance of the traditional Chinese lion dance had guests smiling from ear to ear.

“The lion dance is more than 3,000 years of culture and history in Chinese traditions,” said Chan. “Lion dance is important for the new year, the festival, because the lion comes and takes away the evil spirit and gives good blessings, good health and prosperity for people. The lion comes in, wow, mighty. Everybody enjoys the lion dance. It’s a lot more than just watching lion dance performances. It’s a lot of meaning in dancing.”

The event drew together a vibrant mix of communities, from Filipino and Caribbean, to African, Indian and beyond, in what Chan calls a symbolic gesture of unity.

“It’s a whole day, five hours of nonstop activities in the Ville Marie area,” said Chan. “It is something that we do every spring to celebrate Asian heritage month. The most important thing is that we bring in all different communities together. We all come and collaborate together to make really big performances. Also, everybody enjoys the different cultures and traditions.”

Opening remarks included invited civic and community leaders such as MP Sameer Zuberi, Montreal Executive Committee Chair Claude Pinard, and Pierrefonds–Roxboro Mayor Jim Beis.

Organizers say the event is also part of broader efforts to strengthen Chinatown as a vibrant, welcoming destination for residents, visitors, and local businesses. In the coming weeks, community associations, merchants, and residents are expected to announce additional initiatives aimed at supporting Chinatown’s safety and prosperity.

Montreal Police (SPVM) will also participate with an information booth focused on community engagement and public safety awareness.

The free family-friendly festival runs from noon to 4 p.m. at Sun-Yat-Sen Place, located at 1055 Rue Clark at the corner of De la Gauchetière West. Highlights include opening ceremonies beginning at noon, followed by lion dance performances and multicultural drumming and dance presentations throughout the afternoon.

“My brother here, my Mauritian brother Pat, has been part of this event for the last five years,” said Saishwari Veersamy, performer for Montreal Chinatown Multicultural Festival. “And so they’ve been coming to represent Mauritius island and it’s such a privilege for us to be able to share such culture with all these people because in our country it’s so diverse.”

Organizers say the event welcomes families, youth, artists, and visitors from across Montreal to celebrate Chinatown’s role as one of the city’s most vibrant cultural hubs.

“One world, one humanity, as there are no borders, as I said, between people, we’re all humans, no matter which country you come from, and we’re all friends, all family,” said Hui.