Tamil Heritage Month celebrated at event in Halifax
About 800 people braved the weather to attend
Members of the Tamil community in Nova Scotia came out in numbers on Saturday to celebrate Tamil Heritage Month at the Halifax Forum multi-purpose centre.
Organizers estimated that more than 800 people attended despite stormy weather.
January was proclaimed Tamil Heritage Month by Parliament in 2016. The month celebrates Tamil language and culture and the contributions Tamils have made to Canada.
Valarmathy Kaliaperumal, president of the Maritime Tamil Welfare Association, said the Tamil population in Nova Scotia was about 1,500 in 2016, but has tripled since.
She said the event was not just about celebrating the community but a way of exposing more Nova Scotians to Tamil culture.
One side of the room was dedicated to shopping booths and the other to people sampling and buying traditional Tamil foods.
The main stage featured a number of cultural performances, including children doing traditional Tamil dances.
According to Kaliaperumal, the event allows Tamil children who are away from their homeland experience the diversity and vibrancy of their culture.
Kaliaperumal said she was gratified by the turnout and the association wants to do even more next year.
"We are planning, hopefully, to have a two-day event next year with the population and with all the cultural performances that we have," she said.