When Saiira Najak moved to Cambridge from the Greater Toronto Area back in 2018, she saw opportunity.
She noticed a lot of immigrants and newcomers in the city but a lack of settings for them to socialize, form relationships and access resources they needed for a smooth transition.
It prompted Najak to take action and create the Cambridge Cultural Association, an organization that aims to bring the community together to celebrate cultural diversity.
From there she created the Cambridge Multicultural Festival in 2019, an event that will be put on in Forbes Park on July 22 for the first time since before the pandemic.
“I thought it would be a good opportunity to assist the newcomers as they integrated into the community,” Najak said.
“As I saw the statistics of the population increasing and now drastically increasing, I decided to create this festival.”
Food from various ethnic backgrounds, dance performances, a children’s entertainer, yoga classes, an obstacle course and ping pong will all be part of the festivities.
The family style festival will also celebrate Cambridge 50th anniversary.
“It’s a one day festival and our focus this year is on mental health and wellbeing," Najak said.
“There will also be children’s activities because post COVID we saw these two things were much needed in the community. We’ll have vendors with mental health resources as one of the major sponsors of the event will be the Cambridge Memorial Hospital.”
A lot has been learned since the last time Najak helped host the event, she says, and with social isolation having taken its toll on the community she’s excited to be back up and running.
“We didn't have the ability to be social for three years,” Najak said.
“Four years later it has expanded as we’ve spoken with the community and gathered information on different cultures we weren't aware of in the city in 2019. This year we’re focusing a lot more on the kids.”
Najak says the goals of the festival are simple, to have fun, learn to appreciate different groups of people and understand there are resources in the community to help.
“I want people to appreciate the culture of Cambridge,” she said.
“I hope people are aware of the different programs that are available for mental health and wellbeing. It’s a good way to get information and have fun while integrating with different cultures.”
The festival will begin at 11:30 a.m. and run until 7 p.m.
For more information on the Cambridge Cultural Association visit cambridgecultural.ca.
