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![\"Mike](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4440479_web1_FolkloramaIRCC-Ceremony_MikeSudoma_July29_2026-15.JPG\")
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Mike Sudoma \/ Free Press<\/p>\n
Nuhu Hadi receives a flag after receiving his Canadian citizenship during a ceremony at The Forks Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a citizenship ceremony at the launch of Folklorama is very special and very fitting. Both remind us that Canada is strengthened by people from every corner of the world who bring their traditions and cultures to our communities,\u201d said Mayor Scott Gillingham at the event.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Mike Sudoma \/ Free Press<\/p>\n Folklorama executive director Teresa Controneo speaks during a Folklorama kickoff event at The Forks Wednesday morning. Controneo says the festival has broadened people\u2019s horizons in the city over its 55 years.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Attendees were encouraged with the soon-to-be-Canadians to recite the Oath of Citizenship in French and English, with its pledge of allegiance to King Charles, the Constitution and Aboriginal and treaty rights. (Though attendees were also reminded that reciting the oath would not automatically make them Canadian if they weren\u2019t yet approved citizen applicants.)<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Mike Sudoma \/ Free Press<\/p>\n Tbeb Okube gets ready to cheer on his dad Yosief Okube as he receives his Canadian Citizenship during a ceremony at The Forks Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n But most of the launch was a whirlwind of music and folkloric attire, with ambassadors from dozens of this year\u2019s pavilions speaking, performing or weaving through the crowd.<\/p>\n One of these ambassadors was Jeff Kozak, representing the Ukraine Kyiv pavilion.<\/p>\n \u201cMy family dates back to 1906, so we\u2019ve been here a while. And over that time, there\u2019s been multiple waves of immigration, so we\u2019re trying to be as true to our roots as we possibly can (while) we welcome our newcomers for whatever reason they have arrived in town,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Mike Sudoma \/ Free Press<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Adult Ambassador for Ukraine-Kyiv Pavilion Jeff Kozak has spent many years on Folklorama\u2019s stages.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Kozak has spent many years on Folklorama\u2019s stages, dancing and playing the bandura. Emerging around the 15th century, the lute-like instrument associated with the Cossacks is an enduring symbol of Ukrainian folk music and cultural resistance.<\/p>\n \u201cThe shows are great. The food is fantastic. I\u2019ve performed at the pavilions since I was a teenager, so it\u2019s been 30 years,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n Along with the German and Scandinavian pavilions, Ukraine Kyiv pavilion is one of just a few still active that have been part of the festival since its opening year. During its 55th anniversary, Folklorama is shining a spotlight on those founding pavilions.<\/p>\n \u201c(Folklorama) was really just meant to be a one-time celebration of the Centennial, and it was so successful that it just continued,\u201d says Teresa Cotroneo, the festival\u2019s executive director.<\/p>\n The centennial in question was Manitoba\u2019s 100th anniversary in 1970, not Canada\u2019s in 1967. Both milestones helped trigger a surge of new cultural institutions and organizations across Winnipeg, a movement reinforced by Canada\u2019s Multiculturalism Policy of 1971.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t John Woods \/ Free Press files<\/p>\n Performers at the German pavilion.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \u201c(Folklorama) really redefined what this community looks like. It\u2019s broadened people\u2019s horizons as far as being comfortable exploring different cultures,\u201d Cotroneo says.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year\u2019s festival really has something for everybody, whether it\u2019s children\u2019s activities, a late-night party, an outdoor component that you\u2019re looking for. Really, it\u2019s an opportunity for people to go out.\u201d<\/p>\n A couple of pavilions this year seem especially ready to throw a serious party.<\/p>\n The Mexican Pavilion \u2014 running Aug. 9 to 15 at the St. Norbert Community Centre \u2014 will explore the country\u2019s cultural history from its pre-Hispanic roots to today, featuring folkloric performances, cuisine and drinks, with tequila, cerveza and margaritas fuelling the late-night fiestas of Aug. 14 and 15.<\/p>\n The Egyptian Pavilion \u2014 also Aug. 9 to 15, at the RBC Convention Centre \u2014 offers daily performances covering different parts of Egyptian heritage, including Upper Egyptian\u2019s saidi dance traditions, shamadan (the candelabrum balanced on belly dancers\u2019 heads), and the bambouty music of Suez maritime culture.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Mike Deal \/ Free Press files<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Young dancers from the Scandinavian Pavilion at Folklorama were still all smiles after a week of dancing at a previous festival.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Folklorama also features two new pavilions with new representations from the local Salvadorian and Romanian communities (Aug. 9-15 at the Burton Cummings Community Centre for the first; Aug. 9-15 at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church for the second, Heart of Romania, which is distinct from Week 1\u2019s Romanian Pavilion).<\/p>\n \u201cThese are younger community members coming up, and they bring in new perspectives and also want to share what their heritage means to them,\u201d says Cotroneo.<\/p>\n Cotroneo emphasizes that the festival is about sharing culture both across communities and within them, an observation echoed by Nellie Kennedy, Manitoba\u2019s minister of sport, culture, heritage and tourism.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t John Woods \/ Free Press files <\/p>\n
\u201cFolklorama is about cultural transmission. It celebrates the languages, traditions, and identities of many communities that now call Manitoba home. That legacy of sharing and appreciation is what continues to make this festival so meaningful,\u201d she said, after noting that Folklorama is the world\u2019s largest and longest-running festival of its kind.<\/p>\n conrad.sweatman@winnipegfreepress.com<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Conrad Sweatman Conrad Sweatman is an arts reporter and feature writer. Before joining the Free Press full-time in 2024, he worked in the U.K. and Canadian cultural sectors, freelanced for\u00a0outlets including The Walrus, VICE and Prairie Fire. Read more about Conrad.<\/a><\/p>\n
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\n Performers cut wood at the German Folklorama pavilion.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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