The world's cultures were on display at London's Multicultural Festival. Take a look!
Sunday's event brought thousands of people together to explore food, music and stories
Downtown London was filled with people displaying their traditions, cuisine, as well as song and dance at the the city's annual multicultural festival this weekend.
Thousands flocked to the Covent Garden Market where they explored specialties from around the world, showing each other how diverse London truly is.
The CBC London team was there to capture stories, asking people about the traditions they carry with them from their country of origin. They also told us about local traditions they've embraced since moving to the Forest City.
For many, a taste of home is something they still cling to, and are proud to share with others., such as J.C. Gomez, who is from Bogota, Colombia and was a vendor at a Mexican food stall.
"The culture here in London is so diverse, I'm making Mexican tacos that I learned [how to make] in Mexico when I was travelling and people really like it," J.C. Gomez said, who is from Colombia, and was a vendor at a Mexican food stall.
"You learn a lot from different countries and I feel London is just so multicultural and we all get along with each other. There's different types of people who come here and they just enjoy everybody's food."
For others, sharing the sounds and moves of their culture is how they keep rituals alive. Burmese-Londoners got to showcase how they celebrate the Tingyan festival, also known as the Myanmar New Year.
"This Tingyan festival is very important to our Myanmar people, it is our very joyful movement to celebrate our New Year," said JuJu, who was part of a dance ensemble performing a traditional dance. "We also splash water to wash [away] our past and welcoming the new beginnings."
When asked what practices they've picked up since moving to London, many at the festival said the Canadian spirit of kindness and openness to something new is what has made them and their families feel welcome.
"There's a sense of curiosity that I've found about Canadians of different stripes," said Moses Latigo Odida, a London-based documentary filmmaker born and raised in Uganda.
"Events like this highlight the diversity of London and the London public is curious to test foods from different cultures and this curiosity is really integral to getting to understand who we are and each other so I love participating in that."
