For the fifth year, you can join the New Canadians Centre (NCC) to celebrate cultures across the world with a multi-day festival leading up to Canadian Multiculturalism Day on June 27.
From Wednesday, June 17 to Friday, June 26, the Canadian Multicultural Festival will bring a series of free family-friendly celebrations of food, music, and stories to Nogojiwanong-Peterborough, the City of Kawartha Lakes, and Northumberland County.
“The festival gives our clients from nearly 100 countries an opportunity to showcase their cultures and what’s meaningful to them,” says Katelyn Rothenbush, NCC’s Director of Fundraising and Communications.
“It’s a special thing to see yourself reflected and to share with others what, for many people, is a crucial part of their identity,” Rothenbush says. “With a lot of the events facilitated by current or former NCC clients, the festival is really about belonging in our community, and showing that through food, music, dance, stories, and having a lot of fun.”
Since 1979, the non-profit charitable organization has supported immigrants, refugees, and other newcomers to the Kawarthas region, including 1,935 in the past year alone who speak 78 different languages and bring their own customs, traditions, and practices to their new country.
That includes Saima Sarfraz, who arrived in Canada from Pakistan in 2021. She has regularly attended events and programs delivered by the NCC, including the Canadian Multicultural Festival in 2024, which reminded her of her previous life in Islamabad where she studied at the International Islamic University and met people from all over the world.
“We interacted with each other and tried different food, so it’s something that really resonates with me at a personal level,” Sarfraz says of the 2024 festival, noting that her son learned about other cultures from vendors representing different countries at the Block Party. “He was learning about accepting differences and diversity.”
Sarfraz says it’s “very important” to share cultural traditions with her son, while she also enjoys educating others about her country. She and her family ran a booth during the 2024 festival’s Block Party, where they wore cultural dress and had educational displays and activities to introduce visitors to the many cultures, languages, and traditions that can be found across Pakistan.
“I have my different mother tongue and I have a different national language, so I can’t understand all the languages in Pakistan,” Sarfraz explains of her home country. “There are some places I haven’t been and others I have, and it’s like going to a different country, with different food, different dress, and different lifestyles.”
One common popular tradition in Pakistan is truck art, where trucks are transformed into vibrant canvases with floral patterns, calligraphy, religious imagery, portraits, and bold colours. At their booth during the Block Party, the Sarfraz family offered a truck art activity for children.
“I got a design printed so the kids could do a colouring activity and get to know more about it,” she recalls. At the booth, children also learned about how most of the world’s soccer balls, including those used in the World Cup, are made in Sialkot, Pakistan.
This year’s Canadian Multicultural Festival kicks off with a Community Conversation on Wednesday, June 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Friends of the Library Community Room in the main branch of the Peterborough Public Library.
In advance of World Refugee Day on June 20, the panel discussion will reflect on Peterborough being a welcome centre for government-assisted refugees and discuss how better to continue providing support for refugees and newcomers to Canada.
“It’s been ten years since the New Canadians Centre has been supporting government-assisted refugees, so it’s a meaningful milestone,” says Rothenbush. “There are a lot of people in the community, like volunteers and sponsors, who have supported refugees over those 10 years, and they’ll be part of the panel too.”
To honour the milestone as well as World Refugee Day, husband-and-wife physician team Dr. Neera Jeyabalan and Dr. Greg Bishop have generously committed to match donations to the NCC up to a total of $10,000 until Tuesday, June 30.
As for the panel, guests will include former government-assisted refugees Ajil Almousa and Bayan Eshhadeh, English-as-a-second-language instructor Christine Fayek, and retirees Marguerite and Phil Adams, two volunteers who support refugees. The panel will open with a reception and finish with an audience Q&A period. Advance registration is required.
On Thursday, June 18, there will be Zumba lessons at the Connecting Seniors: Community Resources drop-in program held at the Bobcaygeon branch of the Kawartha Lakes Public Library. The NCC will be on site to introduce visitors to the programs and services, with Zumba lessons at 10:45 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 11:45 a.m.
A popular dance-fitness program around the world often described as “exercise in disguise,” Zumba combines high-energy aerobic exercise with Latin and world rhythms. Registration is not required to participate.
Back in Peterborough that evening, the NCC will also be hosting trivia and Zumba at the pavilion in Beavermead Park. From 6 to 7 p.m., people can test their knowledge to become NCC’s first trivia champion before joining the lively Zumba session from 7 to 8 p.m.
In honour of World Refugee Day, the NCC will be hosting an all-day “Story Walk” on Saturday, June 20 at Victoria Park in Lindsay that features Building a Home by Casandra Lee.
The children’s book, commissioned by the NCC and available in seven languages, follows six children from Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Mexico, and Syria who moved to Nogojiwanong-Peterborough. It was created from a collection of real-life stories from children who offered unique perspectives on their life and move to Canada. Registration is not required for this drop-in event.
“The Story Walk will allow people to walk through the path of Victoria Park and read the book on large, printed panels,” says Rothenbush. “They can take a stroll and look at settlement through the eyes of children in our area.”
Also on Saturday, the NCC will be hosting a morning yoga practice and Merengue dance session at Sadleir House in Peterborough from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with yoga from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Merengue from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. A ParticipACTION Community Challenge presented by Novo Nordisk, a national initiative encouraging people to get active, the event will take place outdoors on the lawn if the weather permits; otherwise, it will move indoors.
All experience levels are welcome to participate. Registration is not required, but those who require a yoga mat can email Bhisham Ramoutar at bhisham@nccpeterborough.ca.
On Tuesday, June 23 from 3 to 5 p.m., the NCC is introducing an all-new delicious event for the Canadian Multicultural Festival with “Dip Around the World.” Held at the NCC’s Romaine Street location in the former St. James United Church, the event takes inspiration from the NCC’s 2024 “Sip Around the World” event that introduced a range of coffees and teas originating from around the world.
For “Dip Around the World,” guests will have the opportunity to learn how to make authentic dips from Mexico, the Middle East, Japan, and beyond, and then taste what they’ve created. Advance registration is required.
“Food brings people together, of course, and this is a chance for people to connect over new and shared flavours and techniques,” says Rothenbush.
On Thursday, June 25 from 6 to 8 p.m., the NCC will be at Port Hope’s Memorial Park for “Around the World in Northumberland.” This vibrant celebration of culture, community, and connection will feature square dancing and Zumba, music and dance performances, drinks and snacks from around the world, and live polyphony music.
Visitors are asked to bring lawn chairs or blankets for this free family-friendly community event which, in the case of bad weather, will move indoors to the nearby Port Hope Columbus Hall.
The Canadian Multicultural Festival will come to a close on Saturday, June 26 — the day before Canadian Multiculturalism Day — with a free Block Party from 2 to 6 p.m. at NCC’s Romaine Street location.
The afternoon will include crafts, a bouncy castle, henna, face-painting, and more family-friendly activities. There will also be a cultural fair on site to support visitors in learning about the range of different cultures in Peterborough.
While the Block Party has become a staple way to close out the festival, there are all-new events on this year’s lineup. A multicultural stage show will feature the Kawartha Youth Orchestra at 3 p.m. followed by a performance at 4 p.m. from Agneya, an award-winning Indo-Canadian percussionist and composer. At 5 p.m., a multicultural fashion show will display cultural clothing from around the world.
At each event during the festival, the NCC will host a welcome table where attendees can purchase T-shirts and tote bags branded with NCC’s Canadian Multicultural Festival logo. You can also pick up a Festival Garden passport to be stamped at each event you attend. Once you collect three or more stamps, you can submit the passport to be entered in a draw to win prizes.
While any donations will help the NCC continue to support newcomers, the ultimate goal of the festival according to Rothenbush is to instill an appreciation for the different cultures found across the Kawarthas region and to celebrate their contributions to Canada.
“The festival is meant to help people learn something new, meet new people, and make friends, through the lens that we are more similar than we are different,” she says. “These kinds of events help to humanize immigration, especially at this time. We hope everyone learns something new, connects with new people, and enjoys themselves. At the heart of it all — the food, the music, the fashion — it’s about community and belonging.”
For more information about the 2026 Canadian Multicultural Festival, visit nccpeterborough.ca/multiculturalfestival-2026/.
This branded editorial was created in partnership with the New Canadians Centre. If your organization or business is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.
